Air raids alone are not sufficient

The forces of the so-called international alliance for combating terrorism are currently sending their warplanes to Syria and Iraq to launch strikes on the positions of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra as they finally admitted that the revolutionists as they call them are in fact terrorists who are committing heinous crimes threatening the security and stability of the region and the world as a whole.

Air raids alone will not eliminate ISIS or Jabhat al-Nusra, and before that the sources of terrorism must be dried up and neighboring countries must commit to controlling their borders, exchange security information with the Syrian government, and stop arming and funding terrorists.

Syria will not stop fighting terrorism and it will not wait for permission from any one or buy a ticket to enter a club whose members suddenly decided to combat terrorism.  Syria has openly announced that it supports any international efforts that would result in combating terrorism; however it affirms that this should be done in the framework of preserving the lives of innocent civilians and respecting the national sovereignty based on the international pacts.

Syria has been combating the ISIS , Jabhat al-Nusra, the so-called the ‘Free Army’ and all the other terrorist organizations which have been funded and armed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France, Britain and many other countries.

Takfiri terrorists have been committing horrific crimes against innocent civilians since the outbreak of the crisis in Syria in March 2011. ISIS terrorists have been behind many of the deadly bomb attacks targeting both civilians and government institutions across Syria over the past three years. The terrorist group has links with Saudi and Qatari intelligence and is supported by the Zionist regime.

Takfiri ISIS terrorists are turning into a dangerous crisis not only in the Middle East region but across the world. ISIS is now not a national problem. It is a regional crisis and it could be a global crisis. ISIS is really a dangerous entity that is moving fast. It could actually drag the whole area in a long-term conflict exhausting its resources. The terrorism fueled by the ISIS Takfiri terrorists will adversely affect the whole region and even the whole world.

A recent intelligence report has revealed that terrorists from over 81 countries are currently fighting inside Syria against Syrian people and government. New York-based intelligence firm, the Soufan Group, estimated in June that at least 12,000 terrorists from 81 countries, including some 3,000 European nationals, are fighting in Syria. The number is said to be unprecedented in the history of armed conflicts in the modern age. Other media accounts estimate that higher numbers of foreign mercenaries are involved in the Syrian war, including Europeans and Americans. The ISIS Takfiri terrorist group has translated its recruitment videos into myriads of languages, including Urdu, Tamil, and Bahasa Indonesia.

Being serious in combating terrorism isn’t achieved by transgressing against others’ sovereignty; it is achieved through serious political work to dry up its sources and cooperating with the Syrian government, because Syria knows better than anyone else what is happening on its land, and then comes international joint action to combat terrorism.

K.Q.