Rhetorical fireworks, at the very least, are in prospect after Turkey shot down a Russian plane on the border with Syria in a week of quickening diplomacy to discuss France’s proposed “grand and single coalition” against ISIL.
The incident, the first time a Nato country and Moscow have exchanged direct fire over the crisis in Syria, illustrates the grave risks posed by the lack of an agreed international plan on how to fight the extremist group.
Increased high-level diplomatic activity cannot mask the corrosive absence of an agreed plan.
The French president meets his Russian counterpart on Thursday. On Monday, the British prime minister visited Francois Hollande in Paris and talked tough and Vladimir Putin met Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran and talked smart. On Tuesday, Mr Hollande hung out with Barack Obama in Washington and talked emolliently. Everyone promised a mighty war against the extremist group. No one said how.
It is noteworthy that even last week’s UN Security Council resolution 2249, which called on member states to "eradicate [ISIL’s] safe haven [and] redouble" action against it, did not invoke Chapter VII, which would give specific legal authorisation for the use of force.
Clearly, talk of an all-out war against ISIL is convenient political posturing. It is a crisis-management tool that employs patriotic rhetoric, claims moral superiority and appeals to national identity and cultural values. It reassuringly suggests action without the troublesome specificities of an imminent start date, committing ground troops and a battle plan.
So far, Mr Obama’s grand concession to tackling ISIL in Syria – the first official deployment of 50 special operations US troops to the north of the country since the anti-ISIL coalition was formed – is no more than a promise.
Just days ago, US special envoy Brett McGurk assured that the Americans would be on the ground in Syria “very soon”. And Mr Obama’s deputy national security adviser has reiterated that the Paris attacks alter nothing, America would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with France but there would be no major shift in strategy in the fight against ISIL.
The American position pleases no one and never has from the start of the Syrian crisis. However, it does at least have the virtue of being consistent. In a speech to the Overseas Security Advisory Council in Washington, US secretary of state John Kerry was unequivocal: “Most people don’t think that another invasion by Americans in yet another Muslim country in which the local citizens are not prepared to fight back and hold the land that you then gain makes a lot of sense,” he said. But he also insisted that “there is a strategy and it is clear and it’s working, not as fast as anybody would like, but working”.
What is this strategy?
According to America’s commander in chief, it is three-pronged: cutting off the extremist group’s financing; hunting down its leadership; and dismantling its networks and supply lines.
His defence secretary, Ash Carter, has told the US Counter-ISIL Senate Armed Services Committee that he inclines to a tighter three Rs strategy: Raqqa, Ramadi and raids.
These one- and two-syllable goals sound deceptively manageable but Mr Carter, a scholar of both medieval history and physics, at least had the intellectual honesty to admit they needed “coordinated efforts across all of the so-called nine lines of effort”.
These include supporting effective governance in Iraq, enhancing intelligence collection and stopping the flow of foreign fighters, all enormous and time-consuming pieces to fit in the jigsaw.
Mr Obama and his defence secretary offer useful thumbnail sketches of handy tools to disable a terrorist network. But these cannot be described as a war strategy.
Even the US department of defence and the department of state, which often disagree on points – and policy – appear united in their dismay at the troubling lack of a grand war plan. Senior US military officers and ambassadors, all of whom have served in Iraq and Syria, are on record with their view that drones and additional air strikes are tools of war, not a strategy.
If there is a sense of an Alice in Wonderland quasi-war, this is wholly appropriate considering the revelations from an expanding US Pentagon investigation of Centcom, as the US defence department’s Central Command is known. Analysts say that Centcom supervisors revised intelligence assessments and conclusions to mask some of the American military’s failures in training Iraqi troops and beating back ISIL.
Their alleged goal was to overstate the progress of American air strikes against ISIL, an attempt to provide feel-good reports on US action against the group. It is still unclear if this is why Mr Obama appears so determinedly sanguine about the US response.
Even so, the urgent reality of the situation cannot be denied. After mounting multiple attacks on Paris, ISIL felt emboldened enough to issue another threat to France, which was positively Elizabethan in its devilish imagery: “The smell of death will never leave their noses as long as they lead the convoy of the Crusader campaign."
Brussels was in lockdown for days for fear of a terrorist attack by an ISIL-inspired fugitive. Much of Europe is jittery and there is no knowing how or when the fever of fear will break.
The cause must be treated and for this there must be a plan not a generalised list of tactics or separate intervention campaigns in Syrian space by disparate international forces.
As an American general who went on to become president once said, “in preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”.
Rashmee Roshan Lall is a writer on world affairs
On Twitter: @rashmeerl
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Ukraine%20exports
%3Cp%3EPresident%20Volodymyr%20Zelenskyy%20has%20overseen%20grain%20being%20loaded%20for%20export%20onto%20a%20Turkish%20ship%20following%20a%20deal%20with%20Russia%20brokered%20by%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey.%3Cbr%3E%22The%20first%20vessel%2C%20the%20first%20ship%20is%20being%20loaded%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20war.%20This%20is%20a%20Turkish%20vessel%2C%22%20Zelensky%20said%2C%20adding%20exports%20could%20start%20in%20%22the%20coming%20days%22%20under%20the%20plan%20aimed%20at%20getting%20millions%20of%20tonnes%20of%20Ukrainian%20grain%20stranded%20by%20Russia's%20naval%20blockade%20to%20world%20markets.%3Cbr%3E%22Our%20side%20is%20fully%20prepared%2C%22%20he%20said.%20%22We%20sent%20all%20the%20signals%20to%20our%20partners%20--%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey%2C%20and%20our%20military%20guarantees%20the%20security%20situation.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
TRAINING FOR TOKYO
A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
- Four swim sessions (14km)
- Three bike sessions (200km)
- Four run sessions (45km)
- Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
- One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
- Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.
The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km