NATO Must Destroy ISIS and, A Strategy to Defeat Radical Islamists

Today I am French. Vive la France! The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attack on Paris, France, is an attack on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). France is a member of NATO along with other Western European countries, Turkey, the US and Canada. I encourage France to invoke the NATO treaty, just as the US invoked the NATO treaty immediately after 9-11 when NATO E-3 AWACS flew over the United States to help protect our skies. Similarly NATO is in Afghanistan because of 9-11. NATO needs to declare war on ISIS and it’s allies and destroy them - quickly - not withholding any of our combined capabilities other than Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). NATO is already engaged against ISIS in Afghanistan.

NATO should use all National capabilities to accomplish the destruction of ISIS.  

Specifically:

A. Political Power - Assemble a broader alliance of the willing to augment NATO and strengthen freedom of thought and religion in the Middle East. 

1. Invite Russia (already in Syria) to participate, but do not allow them to constrain NATO in any way. Require Russia to contain themselves and their allies (Syria, and Iran) in Syria. Working with Russia recognizes its own threat from Islamic terrorism and it’s long alliance with Syria. It also sends a strong deterrent message that NATO will stand up for the security of it’s member states if Russia continues it’s expansion into Western Europe.
2. Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States will assist, as well as Egypt. 
3. Muslim states in the Middle East who are unwilling to assist, should suffer economic consequences. 
4. The destruction of ISIS will send a strong deterrent message to Iran, an Islamist state that supports terrorism and sees ISIS as a competitor to its own global Caliphate agenda.
5. At end state, return conquered territories to representative Republics that will guarantee freedom of thought and religion.
6. Stop the flow of refugees to Europe by establishing a safe zone for refugees in northern Syria and Libya to be administered by the UN until political agreements are complete to return such territory to an appropriate sovereign state.

B. Economic Power - Cut the flow of cash to ISIS and any supporting state. Seize the assets of any entity supporting ISIS.

C. Military Power - Except for WMD, use unconstrained military power to cut off ISIS’ ability to wage war and destroy (not capture) its fighters.

1. Conduct an intensive air and land campaign to destroy ISIS and it’s allies in Syria, Iraq, and beyond. Rules of engagement should be very limited so that NATO forces can be effective in accomplishing their mission. ISIS forces should be attacked until they are destroyed - not captured. 
2. If Russia and its allies do not effectively engage ISIS in Syria, perform the mission in their place and retain conquered territory until political agreements are complete to return such territory to an appropriate sovereign state.
3. Remove the oil fields in northern Iraq as a source of revenue and fuel for ISIS. Retain them for NATO use until political agreements are complete to return them to an appropriate sovereign state.
4. With Egypt as an ally, destroy ISIS in Libya and retain conquered territory until political agreements are completed to return such territory to an appropriate sovereign state.
5. Work with Egypt to destroy ISIS in the Sinai.
6. Support Saudi Arabia going into Yemen to destroy Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and restore regular governance in Yemen.

I believe these actions will destroy ISIS, but they will not destroy the larger threat of the radical Islamist Movement. The strategy to accomplish that is much broader and long term and involves what I call a Free State Coalition.

The Strategy to Defeat the Radical Islamist Movement.*

*Any Islamic entity (Shi’a or Sunni) that seeks to (1) deny individual liberty, (2) overthrow free institutions, (3) institute the rule of Sharia to replace constitutional law, and (4) establish the global Islamic Caliphate. Examples of such entities are ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood, Iran and its surrogates such as Hezbollah.

The Challenge:

Islam, like Christianity, calls for all to repent and convert to their faith. The Radical Islamist takes this to the extreme of declaring war against the “unbelievers” - this is considered their religious duty (Jihad). The Islamists pursue a global Islamic State (or Caliphate) through force of arms and the killing of all who oppose them or will not convert to their brand of Islam. Radical Islamists do not promote freedom of religion, speech, or thought. The question we must ask is: Shall we give up our liberty to an Islamic dictatorship, and secondly, should we allow a significant percentage of the world population to be enslaved to their ideology? 

As the Islamists recruit soldiers from within free societies, governments that support individual liberty will be forced to stand against this threat and defeat it, or be destroyed from within. Free citizens must call Free States to action. It is a time to preserve individual liberty and to free those under the rule of radical Islamists, indeed it is a war for the liberty of all men and women, not initiated by us, but by the Islamists who wish to enslave us to their religion.

The Strategy:

The principles of liberty unite Free States, including freedom-loving Muslims, against radical Islam. The US Declaration of Independence is the source of the Free States unifying principle: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The United Nations (UN) is not a coalition of Free States, therefore the United States of America, as the most capable Free State, must form and lead a Free States coalition, perhaps through an adaptation of the Proliferation Security Initiative, a coalition of more than 100 States, that currently works to stop the spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The Free States Coalition defeats the Islamist cause by (1) liberating and thereby strengthening their own economies; (2) promoting liberty and tolerance to counter radicalization; (3) destroying Islamist fighting elements; and (4) liberating populations enslaved under Islamist ideology.

Name:

The Free State Coalition

Alternate:

Liberty Coalition

Principle:

All men are Created equal, with the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Banner:

LIBERTY FOR ALL 

Mission:

United Free States preserve and expand liberty 

Essential elements of the Free State strategy include:

1. Strengthening Liberty at home:

Liberty must not be confused with license. For example the license to abort terminates life and liberty for the unborn. The license of anything-goes sexual relations leads to justification for the license to kill infants. These two licenses are signifiant recruiting tools for the Islamist. They represent a significant threat to their society that places greater value on the process of creating and giving life to the unborn than the West. 

Liberty of economy is also significantly constrained by government regulation, or license, that favors special interests over individual economic liberty.

We need to increase our birth rates to counter the demographic shift to a predominant Muslim population in Europe and elsewhere. Muslim men with up to four wives are out populating the West. Returning to more traditional values of marriage and large families is crucial to countering the Muslim demographic wave.

2. Denying Islamists WMD:

While we are horrified by the ISIS slaughter across Syria, Iraq, and Libya, we must be careful to not avert our eyes from Iran. This Islamist state has the same goals as ISIS and is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons technology. This cannot be permitted. A very high priority is to keep WMD, including Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) weapons material out of the hands of radical Islamists. For this reason it makes sense to continue the Proliferation Security Initiative and build the Free State Coalition around it. Free States should also support legitimate UN efforts while not being constrained by the UN.

3. Stopping Islamist Proliferation within Free States: 

Islamist inspired attacks within the US and other Free States are on the rise. The Islamist ideology propagates easily across national borders, especially among Muslim populations, as seen by the allegiance given to ISIS by radical elements within an increasing number of nations. The strategy to defeat them must therefore engage all elements of Free State societies. Western Europe is rapidly becoming Muslim due to the very low birth rates among Europeans - this must be reversed. Muslim immigrants and their children must also be taught to value individual liberty and preserve the Free States. Those seeking to overthrow Free States from within must be identified and stopped. The Islamic State and its advocates, wherever they are found must be stopped and destroyed.

4. Recruiting Muslim States to join the Free States Coalition:

Freedom of religion is required of Muslim states for them to be considered a Free State. State institutional proscriptions against religions other than Islam, or penalties for conversion from Islam, support the Islamist movement and cannot be permitted in a Muslim state that desires to be in the Free State Coalition. Muslim states unwilling to support freedom of religion must be considered belligerents and an active political and economic campaign to encourage them to adopt liberty should be pursued. If they permit Islamists to operate within their borders then they are considered a state supporting Islamist movements.

5. Destroying and Overthrowing Islamists in their Home and Supporting States:

9-11 was a strategically significant victory for the Islamists. The successful post 9-11 campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq by the US and its allies are put at risk by not following up with equally committed campaigns against ISIS and Iran, and any other State that harbors the Islamist threat. Misguided US and European policy in the Middle East and Libya during the Obama administration has destabilized Middle East nations and given space for ISIS and other Islamist movements to grow. In addition the democracy movement in Iran was not supported. The full weight of Free State political, economic, and military power must be brought to bear against the threat. United Free States must engage the Islamists economically and militarily in their home and supporting states before they can effectively engage us with WMD in our States. Opposition forces that stand for liberty within these Islamist states must be encouraged and fully supported until full liberty is established.