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Boots on the Ground or Hired Guns? Give the Middle East a chance to fix its own problems

As the nation ponders putting boots on the ground to fight ISIL, some ask if we can afford it, while others question political will. Are we prepared, once again, to sacrifice our fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters for a war that may end in a tactical, but not a strategic win? But there is a larger question that we should be asking ourselves. Do we really want to become the hired guns of the Middle East?
The gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar have been importing both intellectual and manual labor for nearly every aspect of their economy for decades. These countries have become accustom to having others do their ‘dirty work’. While they are genuinely concerned about ISIL, and the instability that their region faces from this serious threat, they have paid only a monetary price. If we, again step in to fight this war for them, we may be perceived as their “mercenary” military - their paid army. Right now they believe that America will always intervene, as long as they can pay us, and convinced that it is the west’s responsibility to stabilize the region, due to interests in the global oil market and the security of the maritime routes.
However, we have already lost thousands of U.S. soldiers and many more have been wounded since Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1991 (not including the War in Afghanistan). How many Gulf soldiers (not including Afghans and Iraqis) have died in combat, during this timeframe, to defend their country’s and the region’s stability? Almost none.
We have been militarily involved in that region for at least 30 years and I agree with what Mr. President said, speaking of ISIL in his recent address to the nation “They know they can’t defeat us on the battlefield. ISIL fighters were part of the insurgency that we faced in Iraq. But they also know that if we occupy foreign lands, they can maintain insurgencies for years, killing thousands of our troops, draining our resources, and using our presence to draw new recruits.” (White house press office)
During a recent seminar, presented before senior Saudi officers in Quantico, General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Retired) said that it would be easy to destroy the ISIL. All you need is NATO allies from the north, Iraqi forces from the east, and Arab allies from the south. But if there is no political will from our Arab Allies, then what?
After decades of unbalanced US relationships with Arab nations it is an opportune time to be direct with Middle Eastern leaders, who are believed to be our allies, and make them understand that hiding behind the US is no longer acceptable. US bombings haven’t solved the problem, neither they have destroyed, or even defeated ISIL. Actually our air strikes have pushed ISIL to anticipate and adapt its strategy. It is not always US responsibility to take care of other countries conflicts, except when there is a direct and imminent threat to its national interests; economic as well as security.
U.S. military expertise can greatly support our Gulf allies, as long as we are not a directly engaged. However, if Arab military coalition fails deterring and defeating ISIL, then Western intervention becomes legitimate and required.
We need to draw a red line, not only for our enemy, but for our Gulf friends as well. Let us not call for American boots on the ground, but for our dear Gulf friends to take responsibility. But this time let’s not use fancy words like invasion and occupation that lead to fake liberation. Let us use a common direct phrase, “Do it yourself.”
By recently taking back Ramadi and Palmyra from the claws of ISIL, the Iraqi and Syrian Armies showed that ISIL’s invincibility is a chimera. Let Middle East military, which by now should be well trained and prepared by our experts, get their hands dirty