ALLIES?

It is easy to be an ally and friend when all is right in the world.  The true test of one’s friendship comes during those times when circumstances are difficult.  Who will stand with you when you need them the most?

In the geopolitical world of foreign affairs we like to toss out terms like “friend” “ally” “international partners” and “coalition.”  We use our allies to bolster our position.  The larger the number the more righteous our cause.  We often hear our president legitimize his foreign policy efforts by proudly referring to “the coalition of ## nations that join us…”

The truth is that our allies in any given situation differ from day to day.  They are often “allies” in name only and contribute little more than tacit support to our efforts.  When it comes to foreign policy…particularly in terms of the use of force…many of our supposed allies are but reeds blowing in the wind.  Nowhere is this evident than in the war against terror.

Take France, for example.  In the aftermath of 9/11 the French offered their condolences but little else.  When the United States decided to take military action against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, France refused to allow American aircraft to enter its airspace.  Later when President Obama sought to impose economic sanctions against Russia in repudiation of Putin’s invasion of Crimea and Ukraine, France refused.  It seems that France had a lucrative deal in place to sell missile systems to the Russians.

Now France is in turmoil.  An ISIS terrorist attack in the City of Lights has left 129 dead and 300 injured.  French President Francois Hollande is stung by the reality; America’s seemingly distant war on terror is very real.  Charlie Hebdo was not a “one off event.”  His country is in the heart of the killing field.

Hollande declares war on ISIS.  He orders over 600 mostly warrantless raids against “persons of interest.”  The man believed to be the mastermind of the attack has been featured prominently in ISIS propaganda bragging about how easily he has been able to move unimpeded throughout Europe.  French authorities believe that he is currently in Syria pulling the strings.  A tip leads authorities to an apartment building where a heated gun fight ensues.  Two terrorists are killed.  Stunningly, one of the dead is the mastermind of the Paris attacks.  The most sought after terrorist in all of Europe is holed up right there in Paris; believing he is safe just a few kilometers from the carnage.  A colossal intelligence failure on the part of French authorities.

Next week Hollande will travel to America where he will seek the president’s help.  He wants Obama to provide access to American intelligence and forward air support so French fighter pilots can better target ISIS strongholds.  He has invited Russian President Putin to join him in Washington.  Hollande knows from experience that NATO is worthless.  But Hollande is desperate to avoid another attack.  He wants to put together a “coalition” with Russia and the US to take the fight to ISIS.  Hollande, once disinterested, is now fully engaged.

France is not alone.  According to most international foreign policy experts from both the US and abroad, all of our European allies have been slow to accept the magnitude of the war on terror.  European countries have generally been unwilling to provide the adequate funding and manpower necessary to track would be attackers; preferring to rely on the US to do the heavy lifting.  Add the EU’s unwillingness to share intelligence and the Paris attacks should come as no surprise.

However “limited” the European Union’s efforts against terrorism may be they are robust when compared to those of our “allies” in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is considered one of our strongest Middle Eastern allies.  In truth it is an alliance based solely on economics…our billions for their oil.  ISIS hates the Saudis’ relationship with the west.  The only thing standing between the Saudi monarchy and an ISIS beheading party is the United States of America.  Yet the Saudis continue to preach a Wahhabi interpretation of Islam that forms the very basis for ISIS’ cause.  The Saudis routinely fund terrorist organizations that act to defeat American interests.

The Saudis, Jordanians, Qataris and the UAE are ISIS closest neighbors.  It is they who have the most to lose in in the event of an ISIS caliphate.  In months past these “allies” had joined the US in conducting bombing raids against ISIS targets.  But those efforts stopped last September.  Now it is only US aircraft flying over ISIS targets.

Turkey is also considered a key American ally in the region.  But Turkey refuses to close its borders, thereby allowing ISIS fighters, like the mastermind of the Paris attacks, to move freely into Greece and further on into Europe.  And it is Turkey that has been helping ISIS smuggle its key source of income, stolen oil, across the border.

As the US finds it increasingly difficult to cobble together a lasting coalition to fight the war on terror it has only itself to blame.

Since the end of WWII the US has cast itself as the world’s big brother and policeman.  Nation states have become more and more willing to allow America to carry the heavy lifting while they spend their limited resources on matters closer to home.  Some have used America’s jingoistic sense of self to their great advantage.

The war on terror is as fluid as it is complex.   America cannot win it alone.

Yet with allies like these…