Deconstructing The Iraq and Syria Conflicts
June 18, 2014
The current escalating sectarian violence between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Iraqi forces and the
unending civil war in Syria are now intertwined and neither can be resolved without the other, which requires a dramatic
change in the political and military landscape in Syria and Iraq.
What is happening in Iraq today, and how the unfolding events may play out in the coming months or years, is directly
related to three central developments:
First is President Bush’s misguided Iraq war, which has precipitated the violent conflict between the Shiites and the
Sunnis in the region. Second is President Obama’s failure to reach a security arrangement with Iraq before the complete
withdrawal of American forces and conditioning continued American support of Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki on the
establishment of an inclusive government of reconciliation. Finally is the unwillingness of the US to provide the rebels
in Syria early on with the kind of military hardware needed to blunt Assad’s onslaught. All combined have brought about
the convergence of Al-Qaeda and Islamic jihadist groups into Iraq and subsequently into Syria, causing the unfolding
horror we are witnessing today.
The legacy of the Iraq war has finally forced the Obama administration to reassess its involvement, or lack thereof, in
the raging violent conflicts both in Iraq and Syria, and it must now develop a strategy that might help marginalize ISIS
in both countries.
There is no clear-cut solution. The bloody conflict in the neighboring countries transcends ISIS’ aspiration to
establish an Islamic Sunni state encompassing Iraq and Syria. There will be continuing violence embedded between the
Sunnis and Shiites for many years. It has now reached a new peak as Shiite-dominated Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi
Arabia assumed the leadership of their respective sects and are waging a proxy war in both Syria and Iraq, determined to
preserve their hegemony if not the survival of their regimes.
For these reasons, the US ought to now pursue a multi-pronged strategy that must first deal with the urgent need to stop
the advancement of ISIS toward Baghdad, and then move to the second tier to address the long-term Sunni-Shiite conflict
that plagues the region.
In connection with Iraq, the US is left with no choice but to take the lead and orchestrate a military response against
ISIS forces. Such an effort must be conditional upon Maliki’s full cooperation on the military front and agreeing to
form a new government of reconciliation that must include Kurds and Sunnis.
Moreover, to show goodwill and entice Sunni tribal leaders to support the efforts against ISIS, the US must insist that
Maliki release thousands of Sunni prisoners who have been incarcerated for years without trial, and stop exhorting
(alongside Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani) young Shiites to form militias against ISIS, which is a recipe for an
intensified sectarian war and chaos.
Since Maliki is not likely to step down on his own volition, during the next few months the US ought to quietly
encourage other Iraqi Shiite leaders, who are unhappy with the corrupt authoritarian Prime Minister and are committed to
establishing a government of reconciliation, to push him out of power. This will be necessary to change the domestic
political outlook and encourage the Kurds and the Sunnis, who deeply resent and distrust him, to cooperate in the longer
term.
The US should also make every effort to contain the mutual animosity between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as both governments
need to realize that the danger at hand must first be addressed.
Whereas Iraq holds “the Saudi government…responsible for the dangerous crimes committed by these terrorist groups,” the
Saudis blame Iraq for the ‘sectarian and exclusionary policies implemented in Iraq over the past years that threaten its
stability and sovereignty.’
As it appears that Obama is seriously considering enlisting Iran politically and militarily to help Maliki stem the
advances of ISIS towards Baghdad, the US should keep in mind that in whichever capacity Iran’s involvement in Iraq may
be, it will only strengthen its hold on Iraq and further advance its regional ambition to become the dominant power.
For this reason, Iran’s involvement must be conditioned upon Tehran’s commitment in words and deeds to end its support
of the Assad regime and help bring about the end of the horrifying civil war in Syria. Iran’s “professed” desire to
engage its neighbors constructively and contribute to regional stability stands in total contrast to its continued
support of the murderous Assad regime.
As long as the civil war in Syria persists, and even if ISIS is defeated in Iraq and loses much or even all of its
territorial gains, it still occupies massive land swaths in Syria to which it can retreat and continue to fight from to
realize its goal.
It is also important that while the enmity between Saudi Arabia and Iran is not likely to recede any time soon, there is
a temporary common interest between the two. A commitment by Iran to assist in ending the civil war in Syria and
eventually allow the emergence of a representative government in Damascus could ease the tension between Saudi Arabia
and Iran and de-intensify the Sunni-Shiite divide.
The Saudis are as fearful of the spread of extremist Jihadists and are particularly concerned about ISIS’ intention to
target the monarchy as much as Iran is concerned that ISIS’ potential success will lead to the establishment of an
extremist Sunni state governed by strict Sharia law next door. These two common concerns may well create a thaw between
the two countries.
Finally, the use of American military forces against ISIS is no longer avoidable. Without American military support,
Iraq and the entire region will face a long period of violence and instability, which could draw other countries into
the conflict with menacing implications.
Being that ISIS is on the move and is adept at guerilla warfare, it will be extremely difficult to bomb ISIS targets
particularly because they hide among civilians. This may necessitate some American special forces on the ground, but the
bulk of the forces will have to come from the Iraqi military.
Paradoxically, the current conflict in Iraq and the changing geopolitical dynamics could accelerate the process of
ending the civil war in Syria. To that end, the US must seize upon this opening and spearhead the delivery of weapons to
the rebels to stop Assad from continuing his indiscriminate bombing of rebel hideouts while killing thousands of
civilians in the process.
For this reason, once the US commits to preventing ISIS from achieving its goal, it cannot do so incrementally. All
countries in the region have a common interest to bring an end to ISIS’ unseemly ambition. They must now set aside their
differences and rally under American leadership to achieve their common objective.
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Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses
on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. www.alonben-meir.com