What do the attacks in Paris mean for the United States and its allies?
Several politicians have called for increased military attacks on Syria. Some have even called for a declaration of war against the self-proclaimed Islamic-State.
Some experts, however, are saying that won’t solve the problem.
It’s been nearly 15 years since the start of the war on terror. That’s the longest military conflict in American-history.
Some people say it’s time for the U.S. and its allies to completely rethink its strategy to fight terrorism.
“Right now we are in a situation where all the tried and tested strategies we have used means we are going to create parched earth conditions in which nothing is going to grow and only create more conditions for violence,” said Ebrahim Moosa, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
“The thing about the war on terror is that it is kind of a worldwide phenomenon. We’ve known there have been American citizens who have gone abroad and joined ISIS. So it’s not limited to a few countries, it’s pervasive,” said Sean Savage at Saint Mary’s College.
The challenge for the U.S. and its allies, is how exactly do you respond to that global threat?
“What it does require is that we need to take the high road. We need to now explore avenues to build peace. Peace is not going to happen instantaneously, but to build peace we need to take steps,” said Professor Moosa.
He says that means finding a long term solution to end the civil war in Syria and sectarian strife in Iraq.
Some think until then there is no end in sight.
“I don’t see any closure both in terms of domestic politics and American foreign policy and national defense policy to the war on terror,” Savage said.
“If we’re going to continue on the strategy that we have now, we can think that for the next two decades or longer, this problem is just going to metastasize globally,” said Professor Moosa.
The experts we spoke to said there are no easy solutions.
But they say that if the U.S. continues on its current strategy, it’s essentially playing whack-a-mole.
They all it does is move the problem from one country to another.
Earlier today, Governor Pence joined Governor Snyder in Michigan in saying he doesn’t want to see any Syrian refugees here.
Experts think that might actually just make the problem worse.
Professor Moosa actually said ISIS wants to show refugees and really the whole world that you can’t escape them.
This could just lead to more a greater sense of alienation which is exactly what ISIS wants to create.
