WASHINGTON – In the 1990s the Clinton administration stupidly under estimated the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda organization. Of course, at that time nobody could have anticipated the well choreographed plot that led to the 9/11 tragedy and consequent trauma.
Clinton did not act
But the information that the Clinton national security team had about the crazy designs of global jihad concocted by Osama and his crew should have been enough to convince them that al Qaeda was a dangerous virus that should have been killed, the sooner the better.
Obama should know
Well, be that as it may, now the Obama administration, without the excuse of ignorance as to the aspirations and potential reach of organized terror groups, is allowing the ISIL cancer to take roots in Iraq and Syria. This is far worse than stupid. This is courting disaster.
I killed bin Laden
Why this inaction? Here is a partial explanation. We know that until recently President Obama was prisoner of his own rhetoric. After the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2, 2011 the official US Government narrative was that al Qaeda was on its knees, a mere shadow of what it used to be, and no longer a real threat to America.
So, according to the White House, a tough and resolute Obama had essentially “won the war on terror”. End of story.
And here is the subtext, all for domestic political consumption: “(Clueless) George W. Bush waged the war on terror by stupidly invading Afghanistan and Iraq while producing very few results; whereas a calm and clever Obama actually got Osama. Now, here is a good leader”.
Radical Islam alive and well
Of course, killing Osama bin Laden in 2011 was a major achievement. But, contrary to what Obama said and probably believed, eliminating bin Laden was not the end of all radical Islamic organizations. Al Qaeda morphed. It moved to Yemen and then to Africa.
And, in the meantime, thanks to the metastasized civil war in Syria, ISIL –an al Qaeda look-alike– came along.
ISIL
Amazingly, while ISIL started gaining ground, nobody in the West paid much attention. And now, with the general indifference of the US and Europe, ISIL has gained firm control over large parts of Syria and Iraq.
Preposterous?
True enough, ISIL and the brand new Islamic State it now created look to us like cheap thriller material. Who can actually believe this nonsense about a new “Caliphate” that will conquer the world? This notion of recreating a religious-political entity that belongs to the Middle Ages is totally preposterous, wise people in the West would argue. This Islamic State has no foundations. It can only last a couple of weeks.
Deranged radicals are also smart
Well, not so fast. By now we should know that deranged radicals, even when motivated by absolutely crazy ideologies, can also be well organized, smart and relentless.
Besides, crude violence and irrational actions do make sense to the zealots and to those who fear them. For instance, suicide bombings look totally insane to us. And yet there seems to be a rather hefty supply of crazy volunteers willing to do something that appears completely irrational and nonsensical to us.
Translation: Take ISIL and its threats, however preposterous they may look, very seriously.”
Blame al-Maliki
But this is not the case. Confronted with this unprecedented crisis of a brand new terror state actually getting established and gaining firm control over a vast territory in Syria and Iraq, the best that the Obama administration could do was to blame, (with cause, mind you), Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his anti-Sunni sectarian policies.
You see, it is all his fault. He is a Shia partisan, and he alienated the Iraqi Sunnis who then accepted the Sunni radicals coming into Iraq under the ISIL banner as allies in their fight against the Shia-dominated government in Baghdad.
Of course, in principle, we can all agree that it would be good for Iraq to have an inclusive new Prime Minister who could establish a constructive dialogue with the Sunni minorities and with the Kurds. But right now the house is on fire and something needs to be done, urgently, about the ISIL menace.
Do not let ISIL carry on
We do not know exactly what designs and capabilities the self-proclaimed Islamic State may have. But we know enough about radical ideologies founded on distorted versions of Islam to appreciate that allowing any group inspired by them to carry on, essentially undisturbed, is madness.
ISIL is a magnet
ISIL now has money, resources, weapons and the appeal of the victorious army. Therefore it has the ability to attract more clever and motivated people who believe that it is their sacred duty to inflict any possible damage and suffering to the enemies of the true faith.
Let us not forget that 9/11 was carried out by a tiny group of motivated smart people who worked with a relatively modest budget. It does not take armed divisions to stage another major attack against America or its Allies.
This is a cancer
We have no idea what the ISIL leadership may have in mind. But the notion that since they are far away they do not represent an immediate danger to American national security is absolutely idiotic.
ISIL is a cancer, and a particularly aggressive one. It should be completely destroyed, immediately. President Obama’s hesitation, while he is playing golf during his Summer vacation, is inexplicable.