The forces of chaos can be defeated
REPORTS of the latest defeat for the so-called Islamic State (IS) will be welcomed by everyone who wants this murderous force to no longer enslave and terrify innocent people or radicalise the vulnerable.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claim the three-year reign of IS in Raqqa has come to an end after a four-month battle. The US military has only confirmed that 90% of the city has been cleared of the group but hopes are high that civilisation may return to this city.
It has been in the grip of people who delight in barbarism and have sought to export their brand of madness and murder around the world.
A true victory will be one that ensures real healing and freedom comes to the men and women who still call Raqqa their home. The mission will not be accomplished until normality returns.
The rule of law must govern the community, not mobs, militias or fanatics.
Education must be available for boys and girls, healthcare should be there for everyone, and a massive programme of rebuilding and mine-clearing must get under way.
The sudden rise and early victories of IS shocked the world. Defending communities against future attempts by extremists to impose their nightmare vision for society involves more than training security forces; the factors that make a city or a region susceptible to such a takeover must not be allowed to return.
In both Syria and Iraq, sectarian divisions have been exploited by demagogues and terrorists. People of all backgrounds and creeds must feel safe before a city can be said to be at peace.
This is a time for vigilance. Even if IS loses hold of all its territory it will remain a danger, with those who supported its deranged ideology adopting other tactics to terrify and exploit communities.
Nevertheless, the crumbling of its pseudo-caliphate sends out an important message. Attempts to build societies on foundations of hatred and delusion are destined to fail.
It will be many years before the trauma of these years has passed and the spectre of corruption has vanished from Syria and Iraq, but as we have seen in our own imperfect history, those who labour for justice win a prize that future generations will clutch tightly.
It would be a dark irony if many of the forces which have together fought IS turned their guns on one another.
Iraq’s Kurds have overwhelmingly voted for independence and there is the real danger of clashes between battle-hardened Peshmerga and forces controlled by the Baghdad government. So far, Iraq troops have regained control of Kirkuk and two major oilfields.
It is no surprise that many Kurds long to secure an independent nation state for future generations.
But a violent war against their neighbours could draw militias and foreign fighters into a devastating conflict which would set back the development of the entire region. Millions will long for the day when the guns are put away. The Western Mail newspaper is published by Media Wales a subsidiary company of Trinity Mirror PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. The entire contents of The Western Mail are the copyright of Media Wales Ltd. It is an offence to copy any of its contents in any way without the company’s permission. If you require a licence to copy parts of it in any way or form, write to the Head of Finance at Six Park Street. The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2016 was 62.8%