13) "THE JIHADIS RETURN": CANADA'S NEW WAR IN CONTEXT

 

The Jihadis Return: ISIS and the new Sunni uprising, by Patrick Cockburn, OR Books 2014 [September], 144 pages, no index, two maps. $US15 pb; $10 e‑book. Review by Doug Meggison

 

            What the right wing columnists do not tell or analyze, Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The Independent [UK] does.

 

            Cockburn has written a splendid articulate short book which "... trace[s] the swift rise of ISIS, the growing anger of the Sunni community in Iraq, and the government's inability to combat a powerful new insurgency. In Syria I wanted to stress that the armed opposition was now dominated by Jihadi movements while the moderates, whom the West is seeking to boost, have little influence on the ground."

 

            Just after the book's publication, Harper's Canada joined the unholy coalition of bombers who are haphazardly trying to rationalize war on Iraq III.

 

            The information most Canadians receive is exemplified by Postmedia News columnist, Matthew Fisher, a war monger who nevertheless provides some interesting information on Canada's crusade in the bombing of ISIS targets from above 6,000 metres high at night.

 

            On November 4, his commentary Canadians prowl Fallujah's skies stated, "Forcing Islamic State out of western and northwestern Iraq and re‑establishing the Iraqi government's control there is the announced goal of Canada and the coalition." Savour that ‑ Canada and the coalition. In fact, every bit of this is controlled by the US Central Command, run out of Qatar and Tampa, Florida.

 

            Fisher continues, "A spring offensive that will combine western air power and retrained Iraqi ground forces is anticipated." The six-month Canadian mission will have to continue longer in other words.

 

            The murderous aerial bombing campaign will not work to secure imperialist/USA objectives because ISIS, as Cockburn analyzes, is well dug in, well‑funded and well‑motivated after its spectacular victories that have taken place under the nose of western governments and media.

 

            Besides, western objectives are completely muddled. What of the Kurds and Kurdistan? Now the US is supporting Assad in Syria? Malaki has been removed but can a Shia government dominate Iraq again?

 

            Cockburn writes, "In the second half of 2013 I started to write about the way in which jihadis were taking over the Syrian armed opposition; at the same time there was mounting evidence that ISIS, formerly al‑Qa'ida in Iraq, was rapidly increasing in strength. [ ... ] [O]n January 3, 2014 ISIS moved into Fallujah and the government proved unable to recapture it."

 

            Cockburn pungently observes, "... on June 10, Mosul fell without a fight. Every derogatory story I had ever heard about the Iraqi army being a financial racket in which commanders bought their posts in order to grow rich on kickbacks and embezzlement turned out to be true. The ordinary soldiers may have run away in Mosul, but not as quickly as their generals, who turned up in civilian clothes in Erbil, the Kurdish capital."

 

            Significant battle hardened Iraqi military, excluded by the post‑2003 governments, are part of ISIS now, Cockburn writes. It is impossible to create new "retrained Iraqi ground forces."

 

            Patrick Cockburn concludes, "It had become apparent over the previous year that ISIS was run with a chilling blend of ideological fanaticism and military efficiency. Its campaign to take northern and western Iraq was expertly planned, choosing soft targets and avoiding well defended positions, or, as ISIS put it, moving "like a serpent through the rocks."

 

            Events in the Middle East are moving fast. The Jihadis Return will not be outdated for a while, but Cockburn's latest views can be found online in the London Review of Books and The Independent.

 

 (The above article is from the November 16-30, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)