What should we do with ISIS?

[ingemann]

Honestly I don't have an easy answer, I personal don't think we can do much. Through if I should suggest something, it would be that the west reached some kind of permanent agreement with Iran, which allowed us to cooperate with them. Iran are unable because of religious reasons to dominate the region, so they would be a relative stable partner, and the whole Shia Cresent wouldn't be a big problem for us.

[ingemann]

Indeed, Iran should be on our side.  Really wish they were.  They need to lose the religious oligarchy at the top.

If USA are able to cooperate with Saudi Arabia, they are also able to cooperate with an Iranian theocracy.

[ingemann]

It is difficult to see a real solution. But I think we have an obligation to do everything within our power to stop genocide, which is the clear aim of the Islamic State. At this point that means sustained airstrikes over Iraq and Syria, western military advisers who actually advise, and heavy support for the friendly forces (Iraqi Security Forces, Peshmerga, Syrian Kurds, and the non-IS rebels who still are a force in certain areas of Syria, contrary to the dominant narratives). If the IS manages to punch through the Peshmerga, that may mean cajoling Turkey into moving troops into Iraq.

The tricky thing is the IS is not the only potential agent of genocide. The Shia militias mobilized recently by the clerics have a history of ethnic cleansing. If the IS succeeds in destroying Shia holy sites as they have stated is their aim, Baghdad and the surrounding areas will turn into a killing field. That is exactly what the IS wants. Their strategy is plunge the entire region into a religious war of an even greater scale than the crusades. And they are very close to success. I don't think I am being hyperbolic to say that the real war has not yet begun. Maybe there is still time for a NATO led occupation of Iraq and Syria to squash the Islamic State, but I don't believe that would neutralize the threat. The ideology the IS promotes is stronger now then ever. Smash it in here and it will pop up somewhere else.

Yes and we can expect them to at very least ethnic cleanse rather large areas in the southern Sunni area (as around Baghdad not near the Saudi border, as those Sunnis have stayed anti-ISIS). In fact I also think Mosul are going to end up a Kurdish city when this war is over, and I think millions of Sunnis will end up fleeing to the neighbouring countries. Of course even with that, it's still preferable to genocidal practices of ISIS, and I'm not willing to send western troops to die to protect the people, who did nothing to stop ISIS from killing their neighbours (and yes they could have stopped them).

As for this whole thing spreading, I doubt it, we may see something in Jordan in a few years, of course luckily Jordan are a country where USA can intervene without the local government sabotage them, plus the Jordanian army are somewhat competent.

[ingemann]

In the face of the emergence of ISIS, we should probably do another push for a peach deal between Assad and the non-ISIS rebels.

Not going to happen, and it really doesn't matter either, the non-ISIS rebels (except for the Kurds) are either irrelevant or as bad as ISIS and all of them (except the Kurds) are in a state of collapse. Yes the West could try to make a deal between Assad and the Kurds, where they later got autonomy against cooperating with Assad, while the West recognised the regime as legitimate, ended the boycot and gave them access to their money abroard. The problem with that would be that it would be a major loss of face for the West, especially USA, France and UK.

[ingemann]

Do whatever is possible to prepare peace for the after-ISIS, because it is likely that many will try to have their revenge against the Sunnis who accepted the Islamic State.

I doubt we will be able to do much there, unless you want the West to reoccupy Iraq. The Sunnis of Iraq can look forward to a sh**tty future, but I doubt it will be a genocidal future.