Against the backdrop of the Saudi initiative to up the ante in the war against the Daesh and Al-Qaeda while calling on the Houthis in Yemen to come to the negotiating table for the restoration of lasting peace, Riyadh has shown not only intent but projected with extreme clarity the way forward not just for the region but for the world at large.
Both the United States and Russia have to see in this move a common purpose and that is to target the terrorist per se. Whatever the name, whatever breakaway the faction, terrorists are people one can negotiate with.
The Saudi approach underscores an upsurge in public sentiment aimed at ending the agony for millions of people. The average person is tired of war and fear and the legacy soaked in blood.
People just want to be left alone and their patience has worn thin. Even the ground support at the point of a gun or refuge through ambush for terrorist groups is becoming more difficult and there is a resistance that is swiftly building at the base level. It is natural corollary to years of anguish and the exhaustion now is its own defense. At the same time as the military options are being exercised there is another soft underbelly and that is blocking the financial support.
Already there are signs that these militants are finding their treasure trove drying up. Those who backed them secretly or for their own political agendas are discovering that there are no percentages in this continued destruction and that is bad for business. Then again, there are now so many factions that it has become onerous and counterproductive to pay off so many splinter groups and new rebel entities both of whom increase exponentially.
One can go as far as to say that the militants are suffering from overcrowding and to an extent neutralizing each other.
There may be more gusts of violence and the list of martyrs might grow longer but one can sense a change in the dynamics and the general resolve that the world needs no more killing fields.
We saw recently the sense of dismay and shock when the café in Iraq’s town of Balad was bombed while people watched a soccer match. This was compounded by the Daesh attack on a Syrian hospital in the eastern region with 20 deaths.
Even as the United Nations (UN) seeks to disband terrorist groups and the world finally begins to understand that it is not one nation’s problem but a problem sans frontieres the sooner will the message of determination from Saudi Arabia echo round the world.
Both the United States and Russia have to see in this move a common purpose and that is to target the terrorist per se. Whatever the name, whatever breakaway the faction, terrorists are people one can negotiate with.
The Saudi approach underscores an upsurge in public sentiment aimed at ending the agony for millions of people. The average person is tired of war and fear and the legacy soaked in blood.
People just want to be left alone and their patience has worn thin. Even the ground support at the point of a gun or refuge through ambush for terrorist groups is becoming more difficult and there is a resistance that is swiftly building at the base level. It is natural corollary to years of anguish and the exhaustion now is its own defense. At the same time as the military options are being exercised there is another soft underbelly and that is blocking the financial support.
Already there are signs that these militants are finding their treasure trove drying up. Those who backed them secretly or for their own political agendas are discovering that there are no percentages in this continued destruction and that is bad for business. Then again, there are now so many factions that it has become onerous and counterproductive to pay off so many splinter groups and new rebel entities both of whom increase exponentially.
One can go as far as to say that the militants are suffering from overcrowding and to an extent neutralizing each other.
There may be more gusts of violence and the list of martyrs might grow longer but one can sense a change in the dynamics and the general resolve that the world needs no more killing fields.
We saw recently the sense of dismay and shock when the café in Iraq’s town of Balad was bombed while people watched a soccer match. This was compounded by the Daesh attack on a Syrian hospital in the eastern region with 20 deaths.
Even as the United Nations (UN) seeks to disband terrorist groups and the world finally begins to understand that it is not one nation’s problem but a problem sans frontieres the sooner will the message of determination from Saudi Arabia echo round the world.
