The Newshour Debate from New York: War on terror backfires? - Part 1 (26th September 2014)
President Barack Obama Wednesday (Sept. 24) vowed to dismantle the "network of death" perpetuated by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and said the US will use its military might to roll back the terror group as he asked the Muslims to "explicitly and forcefully" reject their ideology. Asserting that America will not succumb to threats, Obama told a gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly that the US would be a "respectful and constructive partner" in confronting the Islamic State militants through force. His remarks came in the backdrop of the US and coalition partner nations launching airstrikes against the Islamic State targets, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in Syria. In his over half-hour long speech, Obama said the ISIL has been perpetuating the "most horrific crimes imaginable" by beheading innocent human beings and distributing videos of the atrocity to "shock the conscience of the world." Calling on the world leaders "to join in this effort", Obama said America will not act alone and does not intend to send US troops to occupy foreign lands. Obama stressed that it is time for the world, especially Muslim communities, "to explicitly, forcefully and consistently" reject the ideology of al-Qaeda and its splinter group ISIS. Obama stressed that the world should give up tolerance of "so-called clerics" who teach children to harm other on the basis of their religion. Obama said it is time to cut off funding that fuels "this hate. Obama underlined that the ideology of ISIL, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram will "wilt and die" if it is consistently exposed, confronted, and refuted in the light of day. He announced that the UN Security Council will adopt a resolution that underscores the responsibility of states to counter violent extremism but called for tangible commitments to implement the resolutions. Obama reiterated that America will not base its entire foreign policy on "reacting to terrorism" and that the US will never be at war with Islam. He also spoke about the need to address the cycle of conflict, particularly sectarian conflict, that creates the conditions that terrorists prey upon.Obama pointed out that it is time that political, civic and religious leaders reject sectarian strife. Days after al-Qaeda issued a video threatening to carry out its campaign in India, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Saturday (Sept. 20) said the terror group is trying to set up base in the state and had "tacit understanding" with ULFA. The global terrorist outfit had earlier too tried to set up links in the north east and Assam in association with insurgent groups here but failed to do so, he said. The Chief Minister said security forces have received intelligence report that there are possibilities of some incidents during the forthcoming Durga Puja. Earlier that week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said Indian Muslims will live and die for the country and would not dance to the tune of al-Qaeda. On September 4, the Centre had sounded a country-wide alert after an al-Qaeda video surfaced in which the terror outfit threatened to carry out campaign in India and the initial assessment of Intelligence Bureau found the tape to be genuine. The US media and intelligence agencies had said al-Qaeda has established a new branch to wage 'jihad' in India, return the Islamic rule and impose sharia in the Indian sub-continent. In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists -- Amb Frank G Wisner, Former United States Ambassador to India; Richard Gowan, Associate Director, Centre on International Cooperation, NYU; James Traub, Columnist, Foreign Policy.com; Maroof Raza, Strategic Affairs Analyst; Dr Walter Anderson, Director, South Asia Studies Program, School of Advanced International Studies -- discuss whether U.S. President Barack Obama's response to the ISIS terror threat is not as impactful as it should have been due to a delay in addressing the issue.
