Eva Cantón. Madrid
The minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García-Margallo, believes that the root of the problem that the jihadist advance means in Iraq is military and, therefore, the solution will also have to be military. Yesterday, during his intervention at the Congress, he stated that the world is facing its most serious crisis in a long time.
The head of the Spanish diplomacy stated that if 5,000 militants from the terrorist group of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levante (ISIS) have been able to put the country in check is because they had the collaboration of former members of Sadam Hussein’s Army, of militants from the party Baaz and of the Sunni communities that have felt “pushed” by the policy of the Shiite government led by Nuri al Maliki.
This fact has led the ISIS forces to practically occupy the entire border with Syria and they are starting to occupy Jordan’s, something that, according to the minister, makes fear “the risk of the existence of a terrorist State on top of an oil bourse which will make it endlessly more dangerous than Afghanistan”.
The jihadist advance has not only created a major political and security conflict, but also a humanitarian disaster. According to the United Nations, there are already more than a million refugees after their entry to Mosul and they fear the number keeps increasing as radicals get closer to Baghdad.
The minister of Foreign Affairs considers that the solution to the jihadist advance must be a military solution
The European Union extended its help in 5 million euros which increases the total amount to 12 million in 2014, a number that will not be enough in view of the 200 million euros that the UN considers to be essential to face the needs of the civil population.
“The problem is military and the solution, therefore, will have to be a military solution. But in order for it to be effective, there will have to be a political solution”, the holder of Foreign Affairs insisted.
That political solution would have to obey the Constitution, achieve a national reconciliation for the three communities –the Kurdish, the Sunni and the Shiite- and avoid Iraq’s disintegration. “That is one of the evident risks that would make of the country an unsuccessful State and the headquarters of a terrorist organization”, García-Margallo warned.
