Brandon Webb from SOFREP: "What we have been doing since 9/11 is not working"

The Islamic State has changed many things in the world. But above all, it has challenged the USA. IS materialized in a region from which Americans had withdrawn (Iraq) or where they had held back (Syria). Under the title "The ISIS Solution" - HERE the SPARTANAT Book Review - former members of the US Special Forces - Brandon Webb was SEAL, Jack Murphy comes from the Special Forces, Peter Nealen is a former Recon Marine - reflect on the history, present, and consequences of what is happening right now. We have invited Brandon Webb for an interview to find out what makes this book unique and why former SOF Operators must now raise their voices.

SPARTANAT: There is a lot of publications on the Islamic State currently. How does "ISIS Solution" differ from all other publications on the subject?

Brandon Webb: Our book is different because it is written by veterans from the Special Operations field, with special help from our authors who have an intelligence background and write for SOFREP. Therefore, when we compile a book, we have a completely different perspective than, for example, authors from the academic field. This does not mean that their view of things is less important or less valid, but we not only weigh arguments, but also propose concrete solutions. And we encourage our readers to think very differently about current events in the Middle East, surrounding the radical Islamist ideology.

SPARTANAT: 13 years after the "War on Terror" began, the "Islamic State" has emerged halfway from Afghanistan to Europe. What went wrong?

Brandon Webb: In my opinion - and we also write about it in our book - US foreign policy followed a very vague to schizophrenic plan. In 2001, we had very clear goals, but then we drifted into increasingly murky waters. We lost sight of the causes of the terrorist ideology and instead focused more and more on treating the symptoms ("killing bad guys"). This has resulted in us producing much more instability, you only need to look at North Africa as an example and look at the current situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

SPARTANAT: "ISIS Solution" is a book from the SOF community. What is your prognosis for the future of the Islamic State? How long will it last?

Brandon Webb: Daash (their actual name) has a strong foothold in the region and an experienced military leadership, with a lot of former Iraqi officers holding positions in their organization. However, Iran as a power player in the Middle East and with Assad in Syria are their opponents. America is slowly - too slowly, in my opinion - aligning its forces against the Islamic State. All of this together makes it only a matter of time until they will be annihilated. I think it will take 18 to 24 months and we will see the end of IS, as we know it now. The much bigger problem, however, is that we need new solutions and a new way of thinking to be able to tackle the roots of the radical Islamist ideology. How can we prevent the future terrorists of tomorrow?

SPARTANAT: Give the Kurds their own state. Hope for a cultural revolution in the Middle East. These are two of the conclusions drawn in this book. Do you find one of these two goals realistic?

Brandon Webb: The Kurds already have de facto their own state, they should also really have it. As Jack Murphy explains in the book, a US-supported Kurdish state would be a strong, Western ally in the region. Unfortunately, America has been slow to act and the Kurds have been crushed between frontlines. We now see that they are already forced to recruit teenagers, young men, and women.

The cultural revolution we talk about must take place less in the Middle East and more in the USA. We need to reconsider how we govern, how we conduct and enforce foreign policy, and how we address the world's problems differently. What we have been doing since 9/11 is not working. As we explain in the book: a common definition of "insanity" would be doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It is high time that we approach the problem in a completely different way. Our book is not the answer to these challenges, but it is a starting point to advance the development in this direction.

BRANDON WEBB is a former U.S. Navy SEAL. He most recently led sniper training for the West Coast teams at the Naval Special Warfare Center. He has been in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan multiple times. He is the chairman of the FORCE 12 Media Network, editor of SpecialOperations.com and author at SOFREP.com as well as a New York Times best-selling author (The Red Circle & Benghazi: The Definitive Report). Brandon can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and his Website.

“The ISIS Solution: How Unconventional Thinking and Special Operations Can Eliminate Radical Islam (SOFREP)” by Jack Murphy, Brandon Webb, and Peter Nealen, St. Martins Press, 2014, 36 pages, for Kindle, Euro 2.87