To defeat ISIS, the world must deal with Iran

Following the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the death of Saddam Hussein, the balance of power in the Middle East has been forever changed. President Obama removed all U.S. troops in Iraq in 2011. Control was passed over to an Iraqi government that failed miserably in maintaining control.

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an unknown target that was foiled by brave passengers who forced the hijacked plane to crash near Somerset, Pennsylvania. Bin Laden was eventually tracked down and killed in Pakistan in 2011 following a 10-year global manhunt.

For over four years now, Syria has been mired in a civil war aimed at toppling President Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled with an iron fist for 15 years. The United Nations has accused him of using chemical weapons and committing other war crimes against his own people.

To date, more than 250,000 Syrians have died, 140,000 have been captured or are missing, 7.6 million civilians have been displaced and over 4 million refugees have fled the country, flooding neighboring Turkey and the European Union.

Assad’s primary allies have been Russia, Iran and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which have supplied technical, financial and military support.

The Syrian government currently controls about one-third of the country’s territory where 60 percent of the population lives.

The Syrian civil war gave rise to a more radical jihadist group called ISIS — the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — whose barbaric brutality has been marked by the cowardly beheading of Western hostages captured on video for the world to see.

Today, Iran continues to be the primary sponsor of terrorism through Hezbollah, al-Qaida and ISIS — plus the spread of terrorist cells around the globe.

The Paris attacks that occurred two weeks ago and killed more than 130 innocent civilians have prompted a global call for action, which has both the United States and Russia accelerating airstrikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

It has become increasingly clear that it will require troops on the ground to defeat the ISIS militants, something President Obama has declared is not an option.

Now Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed tanks, a naval group and a multitude of fighter jets and bombers to prop up the Assad regime. Following the Paris attacks, Russia has pledged support for France in defeating ISIS. In recent days, the Obama administration has discussed a coordinated effort with Russia to defeat ISIS.

The question is this: How do you defeat an enemy that has no formal government, no formal army, no physical assets, but does have terror cells spread across Western Europe, Africa and claims to be in 15 states in the U.S.?

The key is to cut off ISIS’ funding and their supplies. ISIS has a reported oil income of $3 million per day. The governments of many wealthy Arab nations formally align themselves with the West, but look the other way while members of their citizenry continue to fund ISIS and al-Qaida.

At the end of the day, it all starts and ends with Iran. Yet the Obama administration recently signed an agreement that grants the rogue nation rights to enrich uranium that ultimately could be used to make nuclear weapons.

The bottom line is that to defeat ISIS, the world must eventually deal with Iran. The longer we wait, the more dangerous ISIS will become. In the end, does anyone believe that Russia will turn its back on its long-time ally?

By this time next year, how to address ISIS and Iran could be the most important campaign issue in determining the most qualified presidential candidate to lead our nation through these perilous times.