Too Many Cooks?

Keval Bavishi, reporting from the CJTF – OIR (Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve), pens down, in depth, the deliberations and discussions that took place in the first session of the CJTF meet.

As the first session of CJTF convened to discuss the plan of action for the Phase IV of the OIR, countries came ahead and put forward their foreign policies with regard to the same. It was considered ironical that the resolve of the task force was one of the first things questioned by multiple delegations; there were signs of mistrust between certain countries. With a visible lack of communication between the French and the British Government, doubts were raised about the presence of the French air-mission in Iraq.

Nations like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom stressed upon the need for advanced military efforts. The British delegation put forward the idea of listening posts in order to predict the future ISIS behavior. On the other hand, the Spanish and the Belgian delegations promised humanitarian aid to the people of the region. There were a series of issues pointed out by the German delegation, such as sex-slavery, prostitution, and physical abuse, which needed immediate attention from the global community.

“Anything that happens in Hajin, does not stay there. It has its own repercussions in Iraq”, were the words of the Iraqi delegation at the task force meeting. This statement was supported by multiple delegations at the meeting, who did agree that the effects of the Hajin crisis will spill over to other conflicted regions of the Middle East.

The Delegation of Turkey, though, stood out with an exceptional drive to push through with further military measures. They also sought the support of the international community, as they requested for armors and ambulances. The Finnish delegation, at the same time, was at the other end of the spectrum, bringing out the human side of the war. The Delegate urged the committee to think about the 13.5 million women and children suffering because of the war. They also promised aid worth 34 million Euros. The chain of debate kept going back and forth, as the committee sought to find a balance between humanitarian and military objectives.

As the first session came towards an end, it became evident that a coalition might have a lot of benefits; but it also carries the baggage of insecurities and vested interests, which might prove fatal to the originally envisioned purpose. Yet, the force is strong with the OIR, and there is renewed hope upon the initiation of the Phase IV.

(Edited by Shruthi Subramanian)