This is a second effort. But have looked up the US Department of State and been told by Wiki that the term metonym preceded State’s move to Foggy Bottom. So this partial recap of lessons experienced by various parties might be of some use there.

The current disruption in the Middle East is in part due to the poorly planned, inadequately pursued and now discontinued voluntary ground work of the US particularly in 2001, 1990/91 and to lesser extent 1956. And before those ineptitudes the sloppy work of the British and French in their organization of what was called the Middle-East. It is unsurprising that a variety of ratbags and malcontents have finally managed to concatenate all those and their own stupidities together into a troublesome mess.

It is past time for show and tell and now time to iron things out before more countries contract what can only be described as a form of rabies. Several out-of-area countries have already contributed small military forces to demonstrate belief that things have become serious. And many do not want to send more because colonials are always called on to send troops when the sophists give up in disgust or incompetence. But if/when the current bunch of crazies start digging up war dead, then affairs in the Middle East will further accelerate and the next crusade will make the last look like the proverbial picnic in a park. Even in our part of the world the mullahs and the fence sitters are working to ensure there will not be a need to pack lunch.

Realistically the prompt commitment of a co-opted but forceful coalition is a job for the leviathan US, the stolid Brits and Turks and the energized French who have recently been doing more and better in Africa than anyone else. In the arranging one thing should be kept central because in some cultures the principal function of the army is in-country policing with civilian police doing window dressing. So it is essential to select current army generals to become the new political leaders. Just make sure this time that such are industrious rather than venal and if fortunate get several halfway as sensible as Ataturk.

Also and as more than window dressing have as coalition force and deputy force commanders two generals from outside those four main countries and from outside the region. For example Scandinavia could be suitable as one source and particularly Norway because it is most distant and has its own offshore oil. And one reminder, if either commander is American we lose.

Many inhabitants of that sweeping region which includes South Central Europe through into Western Asia, Arabia and along two coasts of Africa might agree with much of the above. But do not expect them to say so because few including sophisticates seem prepared to be secular or humanist.