(USA Today) Dennis Ross - In the Middle East today, the Arab Awakening is now a distant memory, and the hopes for democracy have been replaced by the black flags of al-Qaeda. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has now declared itself just the Islamic State, and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, "caliph" over all Muslims. If al-Qaeda, from its sanctuary in Afghanistan, could produce 9/11, imagine the threats ISIS can pose from the much larger area in Iraq and Syria. But while the Saudis, Turks, Emiratis and Jordanians are worried about ISIS, they will not be responsive to American pleas for help if they think it will lead to the dominance of Iran and its Shiite militias over Sunni populations. The writer is counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and was a senior Middle East adviser to President Obama from 2009 to 2011.
2014-07-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive