One of the key components Pres. Obama says we need to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq and elsewhere is for Muslims themselves to take care of their terroristm problem. In his recent address to the nation, Obama asked the Muslim world to do more within their own countries and mosques to do that. Key to US policy is for the US Arab allies to provide the boots on the ground in our war against ISIS.
ISIS had pledged to wipe out the gulf Arab leaders and the Saudi regime, but until recently, the Saudis had seen the fight against the Shia in Iraq and Iran as their number one concern and had only focused military action in Yemen against a Shia insurgency. ISIS in Syria and Iraq had kept the Shias at bay north of them, so in a way, ISIS had a positive value to the Saudis. Besides both Saudis and ISIS are Sunnis.
The irony is that the theology of ISIS, permitting killing innocents and resulting in a virtual dealth cult that gave killing of apostates (both those who did not subscribe to their theology and all non Muslims) and death in carrying that out a shortcut to paradise, has its roots in the madras schools in Saudi Arabia. The majority Islamic interpretation of jihad is a fight to better oneself, not to be violent. The Salafists who advocated violent jihad ran those schools inspired Al Qaeda as well as ISIS and other franchises and fellow travelers. A broad assumption was that the Saudis gave free rein to the Salafists to preach their version of violent jihad as a Faustian bargain that permitted the Saudi royals to stay in power. The ISIS and terrorist action had caused the death of far more Muslims than westerners. In the meantime, since ISIS and Saudi's are fellow Sunnis and for the Saudi's to take them on is a shift from the past. However, ISIS' success may have given them pause that they are indeed a serious threat.
That has led to an announcement from the Saudis to create an alliance of Islamic nations to take on "terorists" .The reason the Saudis gave to begin gearing up against ISIS and the terrorist ilk is that it was giving Islam a bad name.
Whatever was motivating them: pressure from Obama, ISIS becoming a threat to their security, realizaiton that fellow Sunis were victims of ISIS aggression, or bad PR resulted in an announcement that they would lead an alliance of Islamic nations to join together to launch a coordinated military effort to fight terrorism. Shia, Syrians and Iraqis and Iranians were not invited to join in.
What this means is not yet known. The fight is to be coordinated by the Saudis in Saudi Arabia, but whether it means stepping up to the plate to provide military support to the opponents of ISIS is not known. Key to defeating ISIS is putting Arab boots on the ground and whether those boots come from this new alliance is not at all clear. At least the alliance the Saudi's announced is a hopeful step.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/saudi-arabia-unveils-islamic-military-alliance-against-terrorism-n480016
I really like your columns and the experience you're bringing to bear on the issue of the war against terrorism in the Middle East. But I take issue with your use of the label ISIS. Isis is an Egyptian goddess of life and death and the group that calls itself Islamic State should not be dignified with this term, which is basically of U.S. origin. Please, use IS or ISIL or the Arabic term (which IS hates) Daaesh.
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