By David Singer ——Bio and Archives--September 24, 2015
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"The U.S.'s "obsession" with [Syria's President] Assad isn't helping in the common fight against the threat from Islamic State... People put the fate of one person whom they hate above the fight against terrorism. Islamic State can go "very far" unless stopped, and air strikes alone "are not going to do the trick. If people continue to acquiesce with what is going on and continue to acquiesce with those who categorically refuse to start the political process until Bashar Assad disappears, then I'm not very optimistic for the future of this region..."
"that terrorism can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach involving the active participation and collaboration of all States, and international and regional organizations to impede, impair, isolate and incapacitate the terrorist threat,"Only a third Security Council resolution urging military action binding on "all States" can hope to meet this Security Council prescription. American Secretary for State John Kerry has apparently learnt nothing from Lavrov's June warning - declaring mantra-like on 19 September:
"We (America and Russia) share the same goals. We share the goal of ridding the region of ISIL. They (Russia) allege that they also share the goal of a political transition that leads to a stable, whole, united secular Syria."Kerry continues to tie the fate of the Islamic State to the fate of Assad--which will assuredly fall on deaf Russian ears. America and Russia need to jointly sponsor the passage of that third Security Council resolution authorizing military action against the Islamic State by a UN-commanded armed force under Article 42 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Negotiating that Resolution's terms can be considerably expedited by understandings being reached with Russia that once that UN Mandated-force is constituted:
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David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com