The American public is looking for President Obama to demonstrate that he is doing everything possible to prevail in the war against ISIS with the parameters defined by his own strategy of containing, degrading and then destroying ISIS (when viable political solutions are in place), without sending in significant numbers of the US (non-Muslim) military (Any on the ground troops should be comprised mostly of Muslim middle east soldiers). Finally, he could take to the podium at the UN to argue the concept of UN Muslim forces being deployed to the middle east, in the event that any cease fire propositions are established for Iraq and Syria. Otherwise, it will be the US (non Muslim) military acting as a peace-keeping force for the next 100 years.

The American peoples deserve to kept apprised on a regular basis of what is being done to combat ISIS without revealing any national security data. For example, the US Congress is sending our president a bill to sign which restricts travel by foreigners who have visited states like Iraq and Syria. This step may have prevented Mrs. Malik of the San Bernardino shootings from entering the US.

Also our president should solicit the assistance of all Americans to be supportive and encouraging of our Muslim brothers and sisters. It is the most precious and valuable strength of America, that we are accepting of immigrants from all over the world, including those from the middle east. This is also the best weapon that we have against the ideology of ISIS.

This past week of December 7, 2015, it has been encouraging to witness folks from both sides of the aisle denouncing Donald Trump’s plan to bar all Muslims from entering our borders. In addition, their have been a multitude of guest speakers on all the TV talk shows explaining how Mr. Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric is harming our national security by him acting in the way ISIS would like our country to be depicted throughout the Islamic world.

Are there additional steps that President Barack Obama should be taking against the War on ISIS, beyond what he stated to the American public on the evening of 12/5/15? YES!!! For one, he should be placing the need for a political solution for both Iraq and Syria on full throttle forward. Right now, there are the “Vienna Talks” in which the participants are slowly working towards creating a political solution for Syria but not Iraq.

For added boots on the ground, he should make it clear to our Muslim friends in the area, that it will be their  military forces and NOT our US troops, taking back the caliphate of Raqqa from ISIS control. Without a viable political plan for the peaceful and stable governing of Iraq and Syria agreed upon by the middle east powerhouses of Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as Russia, the US will not risk significant numbers of our military heroes on their soil. We will send in a minimal number of US troops to assist with logistics, intelligence gathering and other supportive roles but the bulk of the heavy lifting will be done by Muslim militias.

All efforts should be utilized to limit ISIS from access to monies. Right now they tax the peoples in their controlled territories; they have emptied out the monies from all the banks in their newly acquired territories; they are collecting revenues from human trafficking as in selling kidnapped Yazidi young women; and they are selling the oil from within their land on the black market. Any other possible revenue streams of monies need to be identified and then all revenue sources should be cut off wherever possible.

In addition, every method possible should be utilized to interfere with their internet usage and the marketing promotions for their ideology and for recruits. Developing a strong counter propaganda war against the ideology of ISIS should be a priority. Any news item which would argue against the legitimacy of the ISIS cult’s ideology should be spread throughout their caliphate with the power of a microphone.

A case on point, can be found in the headlines of an 8/19/14 Aljazeera article, “Islamic State is our top enemy: Saudi mufti…Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority has condemned the armed groups Islamic State and al-Qaeda as apostates and labelled them the “number one enemy of Islam”.

The above examples are the the type of leadership, take charge actions that would help the American peoples feel that our president gets how serious, this war in ISIS, actually is. I want him to pretend that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is behind ISIS so that he takes the same intense focus on the above suggestions as he did in pushing forward the Iran nuclear deal.

Dominique de Villepin who was the Prime Minister of France from 2005-2007 has written an op-ed page in the 12/5/15 The Guardian, titled, “We need much more than war speeches. We need political action.” His commentary addresses the importance of the world focusing on a political solution for this middle east region instead of solely depending on our military might. The following are excerpts from his post:

“Air strikes can help weaken Isis, but no one would consider it wise today to send troops to the Middle East. Because we know that after Syria and Iraq, we will have to do the same in Libya, in Nigeria and Chad, in Somalia, maybe tomorrow in the Gulf states or in central Asia. The logic of war would imprison us in lasting military occupation of large parts of the world, without any guarantee of success. Has any military intervention since 2001 been a political success? Afghanistan? Iraq? Libya?”

“We need much more than war speeches. We need political action. We need the world to stand united in the fight against terrorism. Not the western world, but the whole world. That was my belief in 2003, when France opposed the war in Iraq, and this is still my belief today.”

“First, we need the Muslim world to stand at our side. Because going to war on our own will only remove the burden of responsibility from some of the countries at the forefront. Why should they take difficult decisions if we do what it takes in their place? It will also allow some countries of the region to pursue their own interests and hidden agendas, as well as to settle old neighborhood disputes while seeming to fight Isis.”

“Second, we need the whole international community to stand united against terrorism. But how could it be so if we give the impression of double standards, that victims in Russia or in China are not quite as innocent as ours? This is not a threat only for the western world. All five permanent members of the UN Security Council have had to face massive attacks in the past decade, with 9/11; the London bombings of 2005; theattack on a school in Beslan, Russia, in 2004; the bombings in Kumming, China, last year. Over two-thirds of mankind are today in direct danger, including India, south-east Asia, central Asia, west and east Africa. Islamist terrorism has become a worldwide concern.”

“Third, even within the western world, there is still a long way to go to define a common strategy. The diplomatic discussions in the past weeks have shown how few European countries were willing to engage in this war, despite last week’s decisions of the British and German parliament to participate or support the French and American air strikes, out of fear of the risks of increased exposure it would represent to their populations.”

“The unity of Europe is all the more crucial, as the disintegration of European solidarity is one of the main objectives of the terrorists, aiming at isolation, distrust and fear. Likewise, the US has sounded half-hearted in their support of the French strategy, because of their Iraqi experience. Today, we need to speak with one voice to address the terrorist threat effectively.Our first task is to develop global awareness and unity. We need a new Atlantic Charter, on a worldwide basis, expressing the common will of all powers. But for this, we need to reach out to other powers, in particular to China and Russia. United, we will be able to send out a message against the terrorists that will be heard in the Muslim world; we will be able to give ourselves the tools to asphyxiate Isis in its home territory by cutting off its communications, its recruitment and its access to easy money through oil, antiquities and human trafficking. This requires at the same time a combination of air strikes, support of regional troops and strong political co-ordination.”