After Paris Attacks, the West Needs to Join with Russia, Iran and Syria to Fight This Evil

PARIS -- One wonders why it has taken so long for France to understand that the unification of a world without the rule of law could only lead to the spread of chaos. Yet, every year the chaos is more and more visible. It has settled gradually, inexorably, planetarily and now spectacularly and loudly on many fronts -- economic, social, ecological, political, military, ideological.

In such a world, autarkic, national solutions make less and less sense. Do we imagine France alone can now engage this battle that erupted on its streets on Nov. 13, and less than a year ago in the attacks on Charlie Hebdo?

As long as we do not create the conditions for an alliance of all the forces of good, across the planet, against those of evil, the disorder can only grow and the worst violence will increase in our streets, committed by the victims of chaos elsewhere.

There are thousands of definitions in history of good and evil. Today, the evil is terrorism, wherever it comes from. Facing that evil, the "good" must be defined in a modest way: bringing together all those opposed to evil, even if we have much to otherwise criticize in our chosen allies.

To achieve this, we urgently need to apply a number of simple principles which are long overdue but have not been practiced due to weakness, naivety, ignorance, cowardice and procrastination in the face of the mounting facts.

• First, we need to stop opposing Russia, Iran and even Syria, even though we do not approve of their behavior, because we are objective allies in this conflict. Then we need to unite the forces of all these countries in this common struggle just as the forces of civilization coalesced in World War II. Without Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill never would have won the war against Hitler.
• Further, NATO today must be transformed to fight the distributed nature of today's terrorism and not another Cold War. It needs to gather together all the enemies of our enemies to face the new threats. And Europe, more than ever, needs to develop a strong arm in its defense capacity.
• Finally, and most importantly, we must realize that this battle will not be won only by professionals, as necessary as they are, but by the mobilization of the entire people in defense of our values. And for that, it is still necessary that those values are taught in school so that our citizens want to fight for them. In this new battle, we need to restore military service as a permanent citizen mobilization so there is a widespread capacity for civic defense.
• Above all, we need the practice in France of a clear, coherent discourse, explaining what we believe and why. It should not be up to the president of the United States to always offer inspiring words after some disaster.

Starting today, maybe we'll finally decide to review everything in the light of this battle which will determine everything else going forward.

As we should have done a long time ago, we need now to rethink our defense budget, police and education system and how it all fits together in these fraught times. This "rethink" should condition the next regional elections and shape the policies of candidates for the next presidential election. In particular, it should determine our foreign policy and our European policy.

But we need to hurry up. The nightmare of Nov. 13 shows us the costs of time already lost.

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• The Friends arena in Solna near Stockholm is lit with national colours of France ahead the Euro 2016 play-off football match between Sweden and Denmark on November 14, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

• The Friends Arena in Solna, outside Stockholm, Swedne, is lit up in the colors of the French flag in solidarity with France after the deadly attacks in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. French President Francois Hollande said more than 120 people died Friday night in shootings at Paris cafes, suicide bombings near France's national stadium and a hostage-taking slaughter inside a concert hall. (Marcus Ericsson/TT via AP) SWEDEN OUT

• The Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm is lit up in the colors of the French flag in solidarity with France after the deadly attacks in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. French President Francois Hollande said more than 120 people died Friday night in shootings at Paris cafes, suicide bombings near France's national stadium and a hostage-taking slaughter inside a concert hall. (Christine Olsson/TT via AP) SWEDEN OUT

• The Palace Albania building is lit in the colors of the French flag on November 14, 2015 in central Belgrade following a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris late on November 13 with 180 people injured, 80 of them seriously, police sources told. Islamic State jihadists claimed a series of coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris that killed at least 128 people in scenes of carnage at a concert hall, restaurants and the national stadium. AFP PHOTO / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC (Photo credit should read ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images)

• The White Tower, symbol of the city of Thessaloniki, is lit with the colors of the French national flag on November 14, 2015, a day after deadly attacks in Paris. Islamic State jihadists claimed a series of coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris that killed at least 128 people in scenes of carnage at a concert hall, restaurants and the national stadium. AFP PHOTO / Sakis Mitrolidis (Photo credit should read SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP/Getty Images)

• LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14: As the sun sets, Tower Bridge is lit up in a succession of blue, white and red representing the French flag on November 14, 2015 in London, England. The bridge is being lit in the wake of the Paris attacks, where many cities across the world are lighting their landmarks with the colors of France.. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

• LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14: As the sun sets, Tower Bridge is lit up in a succession of blue, white and red representing the French flag on November 14, 2015 in London, England. The bridge is being lit in the wake of the Paris attacks, where many cities across the world are lighting their landmarks with the colors of France.. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

• LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 14: As the sun sets, Tower Bridge is lit up in a succession of blue, white and red representing the French flag on November 14, 2015 in London, England. The bridge is being lit in the wake of the Paris attacks, where many cities across the world are lighting their landmarks with the colors of France.. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

• The One World Trade Center spire is lit blue, white and red after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the lighting in honor of dozens killed in the Paris attacks Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, in New York. French officials say several dozen people have been killed in shootings and explosions at a theater, restaurant and elsewhere in Paris. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)

• The Oriental Pearl TV Tower (C), in the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, is lit in red, white and blue, resembling the colours of the French flag, in Shanghai on November 14, 2015, as the Chinese expressed their solidarity with France following a spate of coordinated attacks that left 128 dead and 180 injured in Paris late on November 13. The Oriental Pearl tower was bathed in the French flag colours for one hour. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)

• LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 13: The High Roller at The LINQ Promenade on the Las Vegas Strip is lit up with the blue, white and red colors of the French flag in a show of solidarity with France on November 13, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. At least 125 people were reported killed in shootings and explosions in a terrorist attack in Paris on Friday. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

• TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 13 - The CN Tower lit up with the colours of the French Flag in support of France in the face of tragedy, on November 13, 2015 (Cole Burston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

• The iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House are lit in red, white and blue, resembling the colours of the French flag, in Sydney on November 14, 2015, as Australians express their solidarity with France following a spate of coordinated attacks that left 128 dead and 180 injured in Paris late on November 13. Both the Opera House and the Sydney Town Hall were bathed in the French colours and New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird said he had also asked for a French flag to fly over the city's famous harbour bridge. AFP PHOTO / William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

• People walk past the Sydney Town Hall as it is lit in red, white and blue, resembling the colours of the French flag, in Sydney on November 14, 2015, as Australians express their solidarity with France following a spate of coordinated attacks that left 128 dead and 180 injured in Paris late on November 13. Both the Opera House and the Sydney Town Hall were bathed in the French colours and New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird said he had also asked for a French flag to fly over the city's famous harbour bridge. AFP PHOTO / William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

• London landmark, The London Eye is illuminated in blue, white and red lights, resembling the colours of the French national flag, in London on November 14, 2015, as Britons express their solidarity with France following a spate of coordinated attacks that left 128 dead in Paris on November 13. Islamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for a series of coordinated attacks by suicide bombers and gunmen in Paris that killed at least 128 people at a concert hall, restaurants and the national sports stadium. At least eight militants, all wearing suicide vests, brought unprecedented violence to the streets of the French capital in the worst attacks in Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The assault also left at least 250 wounded, 100 of them seriously. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)