Here is a quick foray into commenting on the fight against ISIS and how it has to be used to strength communities and the Iraqi state or similar tragedies will repeat themselves. Click here to read the whole article at the Huff Post.
The Syrian civil war and the rise of ISIS has engendered many tragedies -- some widely known and bemoaned, others not. One of the lesser known dangers is that the very existence of the Assyrian people in their historic homelands in the Middle East is under threat.Supporting Assyrian led security forces will contribute to Iraq's demographic continuity, reconciling the peoples of Nineveh to their land and helping to fortify the area against future incursion by extremists. Their will should be transformed into efficacy, and European powers and the USA can and should play a leading role in that process.Local security and administrative capacities are likely to form an important basis of any future national security arrangement in Iraq. This understanding has been recognised in the form of American legislation. This year's National Defense Authorisation Act, which recently passed both Congress and Senate, contains language in its Explanatory Statement sanctioning "local forces that are committed to protecting highly vulnerable ethnic and religious minority communities in the Nineveh Plain and elsewhere from the ISIL threat." The policy of European states should echo these commitments.To read the whole article click here.