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Conservative UK lawmaker: To defeat ISIS we must support democratic forces

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A former member of UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s Cabinet has said that in order to defeat the terror group ISIS, the West must support the forces of moderation in Iraq and the Middle East.

Rt Hon. David Jones MP wrote in The Diplomat on Tuesday: “It is illusory to believe that allowing Tehran to take the lead in the fight against ISIS will ultimately lead to a stable Iraq.”

“There should be no doubt in the West that Tehran is using its proxies to compete with ISIS for dominance in Iraq, Syria and the wider Middle East. Iran has absolutely no interest in defeating and degrading the Islamic fundamentalism that is threatening the region.

“The West should understand this reality and seek to forge a strategy that gives the nations of the Middle East back to their own people, supports popular democratic aspiration and helps build strong democratic institutions.

“A true will to fight will be on display on June 13 in Paris, when the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the democratic coalition of Iranian opposition groups, holds its annual rally against the destabilizing policies of the theocratic regime in Tehran. Last year’s gathering was attended by almost 100,000 Iranian expatriates and their international supporters. The rally was an indication of the extent of the often marginalized networks which, however, enjoy significant popular support that exist both in and beyond the Middle East and which work for democratic progress in Iran and throughout the region.

“The Iranian resistance, the Free Syrian Army, and the other moderate Middle Eastern movements that will be represented at this year’s event attract support from a range of British and American political figures and jurists, as well as from representatives of other liberal democracies. Many will be voicing that support at the Paris rally; but more support of this kind is needed if Western nations are to be able to show moral cohesion on a broad scale. Without explicit support for groups such as the NCRI, Britain will never truly confront the brand of Islamic fundamentalism that ISIS represents.

“To do so requires more than simply making common cause with those with whom we believe we share common enemies. It requires examining the motivation, leadership and objectives of all those on all sides of the conflict, and then putting the full force of Western leadership behind those who best align with our democratic values and ideals,” Mr. Jones said.

The Rt Hon. David Jones, Secretary of State for Wales (2012-14), is a Conservative member of the House of Commons and a leading member of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF), www.iran-freedom.org

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