By Vestnik Kavkaza
Today it has been reported that terrorists of Islamic State have used chloral weapons while fighting the Iraqi army in Tikrit. The expansion of ISIS, which occupies a part of Iraq and Syria has become the main problem of regional security, as militants try to extend their influence on other territories. The head of the United Committee of Heads of the USA Headquarters, General Martin Dempsey, warned that the international coalition on fighting ISIS could dissolve if the Iraqi government didn’t stop the inter-religious conflicts. According to him, “the coalition headed by the US includes countries with only a Sunni population; and relations between Baghdad and Tehran distress them.”
Meanwhile, the head of the Center for Asia and the Middle East of the RISS, Anna Glazova, thinks that the military strikes of the anti-terrorist coalition have not caused serious damage to ISIS, and perhaps only partially localized its activities. It should be understood that for each of the regional states individually, it will be difficult to deal with this threat. “Therefore, the most urgent need is to strengthen military-technical cooperation between the regional countries, with the involvement of special services, in order to jointly respond to a possible worsening of the situation in any of the countries in the region. As far as I know, this interaction has already begun. It is not advertised, but it needs to be strengthened,” Glazova says.
On the other hand, she believes that ISIS is a political phenomenon to a certain extent, and it is very difficult to destroy it by force. “In order to deal with its manifestations effectively, we should be clearly aware of the causes of its creation. First of all, an ideal breeding ground for the spread of terrorism and Islamic extremism are countries which are prone to political instability. And in recent years this instability is often a consequence of revolutionary upheavals that are initiated by external forces, with the use of so-called non-violent technology to overthrow the authorities. And in places where these technologies do not work, direct armed intervention from outside is realized, as happened in Libya. Or terrorists are sent, as is happening right now in Syria,” the expert states.
Glazova expresses a view that an idea of establishing a caliphate is perceived by a certain part of the Muslim population as some kind of practical realization of the dream of a righteous state, which is implemented as an opposition to the foreign ideals and values of the West: “In the occupied territories, ISIS, where they announce the caliphate, they establish a strict order, introduce elements of governance, create the necessary structure. And with such relative stability, as well as some types of social support, they are also impressing some of the local residents. Therefore, now the main task is to bring together regional forces, including the participation of Russia, in order to develop effective mechanisms to counter the destructive forces which are provoking further destabilization of the region, changing the existing regimes, the destruction of the regional states, and spreading chaos.”
