Please sign and share this petition asking the Australian Government not to commit to airstrikes in Iraq!
With the recent murders of James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff by ISIS militants, it's clear that militants in the region are looking to start a fight with America and its allies, including Australia.While it's tempting to rise to the challenge, we must remember: ISIS was born out of violence. Violence that created a vacuum of leadership, violence that created instability and violence that created tribal allegiances and factions.
The militants of ISIS are masters of social media and propaganda. Every time a Western power lashes out against them, they will use more violence and social media to further their cause: demonize the West, get more funding from those who sympathise with them, create more radicals, enlarging their army by boosting terrorist recruitment from around the world. Recruits who are more than happy to travel or to stay at home to die for the cause, and take as many innocents with them.
And that is exactly why we should question Australia’s Defence minister, David Johnston and his willingness to join in on the airstrikes.
There are better ways to go about fighting ISIS than one which encourages more anti western sentiment, thus playing into their hands. We should be encouraging political reconciliation in Iraq: the new Prime Minister should form a more inclusive government. We can promote government restructuring in Syria. We can disrupt and degrade ISIS’ capabilities and counter its extremist message in the media, and squeeze ISIS’ finances and train the Iraqi military. And there are many more things we can do to promote peace in the region, without resorting to airstrikes, which will harm civilians and only help ISIS in its recruiting efforts.
