10 Leaders
The Economist August 23rd 2014
The jihadists in Iraq and SyriaStop them in both places
If the Islamic State is to be stopped in Iraq, it must be stopped in Syria toomake love什么意思
BARACK OBAMA has struck
the jihadists in Iraq and—
even if the action was belated
and modest—he has so far been
successful. But the Islamic State
(is) needs to be thwarted, so he
must strike it in Syria, too. And
that will prove much harder.workmate
In Iraq the advance of fanatics bent on devastation has, for
now, been halted (e page 37). The Yazidi minority which fled
up a mountain near Sinjar in the north has mostly been saved.
Iraq's Kurdish region, the only reasonably governed part, is no
longer in imminent danger. The great dam that threatens to in-
undate Mosul, Iraq's cond city, captured by is in June, has
been cured for the government by a combination of Ameri-
can air power and Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces.
Meanwhile, Iraqi politics has taken a welcome turn with
the forcing out, after eight disastrous years, of Nuri al-Maliki,
shabby什么意思the ctarian Shia prime minister. By keeping Iraqi Sunnis out
of his ruling circle and packing the nior posts in the army and
curity rvice with fellow Shias, Mr Maliki drove moderate
Sunnis into the arms of the extremists. With luck, his designat-
ed replacement, Haider al-Abadi, will form a government that
embraces a much fuller range of Iraqis.
admonish
But the jihadist threat is far from over. Innocents are still be-
ing murdered. On August 19th a British-accented is jihadist be-
headed an American journalist in revenge for Mr Obama's air
raids. is still controls a third of both of the countries that fea-
bubble什么意思tured in its former name, the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater
Syria. It scorns national borders in its quest for a global caliph-
ate. And it is attracting young Muslims abroad, some of whom
will target their own countries. In short, it is a menace to the re-
gion and the world.
Striking is in Iraq is only half the answer. If it is driven out,
its fighters will regroup in Syria only to hit back later. That is
why is must be clobbered in Syria as well as in Iraq.
Mr Obama should now do what he ought to have done all
along: give a decent supply of arms to Syria's moderate rebels,
who are equally menaced by is. But even with weapons and
money from outside, the moderates will not be able to dent is.
That needs aerial attack from America and its nato allies.
sat
This rais awkward questions. The internationally recog-
nid governments of federal Iraq and of Iraqi Kurdistan
begged Mr Obama to intervene. But bombing the jihadists in
Syria is a different matter. Mr Obama will be accud of acting
illegally and of aiding the government of Bashar Assad by
attacking his mortal foes. Mr Assad, for his part, will mock that
the West has belatedly acknowledged that he is the last bas-
tion of defence against everyone's real enemy.
Jaw jaw and war war
Mr Obama does not need the permission of Mr Assad. Ameri-词霸搜索
ca does not recogni his regime; it has long called for him to be
overthrown. Yet America can blunt his mockery and strength-
en the anti-is cau by raising the bombing of is in Syria at the
un68届金球奖 Security Council. A remarkably wide range of countries,
including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey, the region's
biggest actors, e is as a threat and agree that it must be defeat-
ed, not just contained. Many of tho countries should not just
december的音标back the mission, but join it. Russia, Mr Assad's sponsor, has an
eye on its own jihadists in the Caucasus and has long argued
that the danger is extreme Islam. For it to vote to shelter is
would be bizarre—and revealing of Russian nihilism.
If Mr Obama is rebuffed in the Security Council, or if Russia
holds out for an unacceptable shift in America's policy to-
wards Mr Assad, he should nevertheless go ahead and hit is
on both sides of the border. is is too dangerous to be allowed to
gain ground while the rest of the world stands by. ■
Race relations in America
The lessons of Ferguson
There is no excu for rioting. But smarter policing would make it less likely
AFTER more than a week of ri-
Loting in Ferguson, Missouri,
what can America learn? The
first and simplest lesson is that
cops should wear cameras.
Knowing that they are being re-
corded, the police would be less
likely to shoot suspects, and vice
versa. Also, had Officer Darren Wilson been wearing a camera
普通话等级标准on August 9th, Americans would know what happened just
before he shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-
year-old. As it is, there are two conflicting stories and no way to
choo between them. The police say that Mr Brown attacked
Mr Wilson and tried to wrestle away his gun. In the ensuing
struggle the officer, fearing for his life, shot and killed the teen-
ager. Mr Brown's friend, who was with him at the time, gives a
completely different account: he says the officer grabbed Mr
Brown by the neck and later shot him as he was trying to sur-
render. Early autopsy results show that Mr Brown was hit by at
least six bullets but do not ttle the dispute.
