How to erase the Islamic State (II): The inner front.

The Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, from now Daesh), has quickly become the biggest threat in the minds of the Western world. In this second chapter, I will discuss the measures needed (in my opinion) to combat the Daesh in what I have called the home front, the Western countries. In the next post I will focus on the external front, the fight on the ground.

Integration Issues.

In the previous post we talk about what Daesh wants to achieve with his terror campaign: publicity for attracting people to his territory, especially skilled people for helping them to expand their fight. The popular support that already has Deash in some places of Europe makes very difficult to combat it. A evidence of this support is that Abdeslam Salah, one of the perpetrators of Paris attacks, was hidden in a house just 500 meters away from a police station for four months, without nobody betrays him. In addition, thousands of Europeans have gone to Syria to fight in the ranks of Daesh. The authors of the Paris and Belgium attacks were radicalized young second- or third-generation Europeans.

It is clear that in democratic societies, such as European, citizens have rights and duties. Among those duties they are to respect the rules of coexistence, equality of people regardless of gender, race, religion, etc., respecting the rules of democracy and follow the laws. Many people say that young Muslims not respect the duties due to integration problems. For me this is a misconception. Western societies have become a machine demotivate people, Muslim or not. We are full of disenchanted people. All these young (and not so young) people are easy victims for unscrupulous organizations that want to subvert the authorities, extremist groups of right or left, or jihadists, all are the same, because they are fueled by disenchantment and the anxiety of people to belong to something that makes them feel different and loved. Then, these groups use them to achieve their final objective, destroy the democracy. But in my opinion is not enough to feel "disenchanted" to become extremist. Probably there are not a more insulted, marginalized and vilified people in the world than the European Gypsies, however, this lack of integration makes not become bloodthirsty murderers who put bombs in the corner bar. Thus, this requires someone to guide them in the path of radicalization and hate.

To combat this radicalization guided process the European Administrations must take seriously the integration of all citizens (Muslim or not). No one can be left out or feel excluded. Democracy should start a strong discourse against the “official Daesh hate discourse”, not only in schools or TV, but especially in the social networks (like twitter or Facebook) where these extremist groups are really strong. It is not only important to end the jihadist discourse; the extreme right and left discourse are complementary and their objectives are the same. At the end what they want is the over reaction of western countries, they loves the far right discourse against Islam and they need for their aims. The elimination of these discourses (not only combat them with a counter-discourse) is necessary. For this aim the use of the strongest terms of cyberwarfare is required to end web-pages, chats, twitters that continuously pouring rubbish on internet. Yes, a full scale cyberwarfare is needed. However, you may have realized that this is a long term strategy and is a kind off defensive response that couldn't erase by it self the Daesh from the ground.

Cyberwarfare must be fundamental in the fight against Daesh. Photo: wiki average

Wahhabi Totalitarianism

Like the discontented masses were manipulated in the 30s by different totalitarian regimes around the world, other new totalitarian ideas has come up and are responsible of the Muslim world radicalization. One of them, is the totalitarian Wahhabism. Wahhabis have a radical interpretation of Islam. This would not be so important if they had not been fundamental in the conquest of Arabia by the Saud House. In the 70s after the oil crisis, Saudi Arabia starts swimming in money and just a few years later started to export their beliefs throughout the Muslim countries. These countries were (and are) poor, and they welcomes the offer of Saudi Arabia for creating mosques and paying their Imans. The only problem was they started to preach their radical beliefs. Gradually this vision of Islam, which was not the majority, extends and pushes Muslim beliefs towards radicalization and the hatred to other faiths, even the non-Wahhabi versions of Sunni Islam. But this radical religious sect goes even higher when they merges with the ideas promulgated by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic political party that believes the Koran is the only way to regulate the lives of the citizens. This merger, political and religious, founded a kind of totalitarian Wahhabism wihc is the real responsible for raising of a pleiad of radical groups and the creation of Al Qaeda and Daesh. This group has the same purpose as others totalitarianism: extend their ideas around the world and destroy all those who do not think like them. That is why this war is like waged against fascism in the 40s, the war is not going to finish until one of the two sides fall down. No choice. If we do not win we will be destroyed. It is not a war of Muslims against the West. It is a radical whahhabism war to destroy all non-Wahhabi, starting by non-Wahhabi Muslims

The fight against totalitarianism Wahhabi must be as performed against fascism in World War II. Photo: wikimedia

To erase them we can not allow this doctrine could be preached freely in our mosques (yes our, internalized it, Islam is now part of Western countries). These ideologies should be considered at the same level as fascism. The people who disseminated it should be imprisoned or expelled from Western countries. We should ask for help to moderate Islamic countries and Islamic communities to replace radical Imams by people who preach a non-radical interpretation of Islam. If needed we should finance moderate mosques to counter the Saudi funding influence. Saudí people are not our allies, at least an ally does not usually finance the people that kill you. It is necessary to end our dependence on Saudi oil, although this may cost us dearly. Wars, I'm sorry, are expensive, but more expensive to lose.

Do not panic. We are at war

In case you have not noticed, we are at war. Yes, against Daesh. I know the Islamic State is not an “official country” and nobody recognized it... but I remind you that Israel has with the Arab countries more or least 6 wars and yet many of these countries still do not recognize Israel as a country, but despite all Israel exists. Likewise the Daesh exists. It has an area extension in size likeBulgaria, with an estimated population of over 10 million people. They collects taxes, coin money, and they has their own legal system. It is a country in the making. To not admit this is to act as an ostrich, hiding head deep on the ground to not see what happens. So if a “country” like Daesh says it has attacked you (repeatedly) and has declared war on you in several occasions by internet declarations, it is obvious, you're at war. Send planes to drop bombs on Syria and Iraq its a kind of declaration of war by our side too. But Western countries continue to manage them as any other radical group. I think a formal declaration of war by those countries that have been attacked France and Belgium is needed. Subsequently these countries should activated the mutual assistance mechanisms of the European Union and NATO. This would give legal coverage to the attacks being made abroad and would allow new actions, but I will talk about this in my next post “fighting on the ground”.

In the inner front, the war declarations allow to consider members of the Islamic state as soldiers of an enemy country. Automatically these soldiers can be confined in a prison camp until the war ends. Those soldiers who commit deliberate attacks on civilians (terrorist acts) could be tried for war crimes. People from Western countries bring up information, money or help the Islamic state could be prosecuted for crimes of high treason, espionage, etc. in time of war. Besides this, the declaration will allow cyberwarfare against all server and web used by the Islamic State. Make no mistake, even if we do not want we are at war, and terrorist cells sent by Islamic state to ours countries are the "enemy commands on the ground." 

We are in war. Photo: flickr Moyan Brenn

Are not the laws, are our stupid governments

As soon as the problems has begun we have seen the politicians running around like a headless chicken. Declarations of state of emergency, requests to change our laws restricting citizens rights, etc. But the problem is not the laws that we have. The problem are our incompetent governments that refuse to share information between the different security agencies of neighboring countries or even within their own country. Governments that allow the free pass of people in a borderlees Europe but hinders the European integration or the creation of a European Security agency. The moment has come. Or we give up and move towards a common state in Europe with or Europe and we break Schengen and thus the European Union, but it is not possible to remain permeable borders without a kind of "European FBI". Rights restrictions are not need, but an increase of the security budget and more, coordination between law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The war is here even if we don't want to recognize it, we have to win because the if not they will not stop until destroy us.