Nouri al-Maliki’s decision to stand aside in favor of Haider al-Abadi last week was the first step in the long road to recovery for Iraq, and the real work of defeating ISIS can begin.

The recent success against ISIS at the Mosul Dam is an encouraging sign of progress, as Iraqi Special Operations Forces from the elite Golden Division spearheaded an attack backed up by Kurdish troops and American air strikes. After weeks of tension and discord between the Kurds and the Iraqi government in Baghdad, they took part in a coordinated counter-attack on targets of immense importance. “Targets” is used because there are actually two Mosul Dams, the main one and a regulating one further down stream.

Though far from heralding the impending doom of ISIS, the operation (which is ongoing as the forces work to clear the area around the dam) was an important symbol of the sort of cooperation that is vital to any success there is to be had against their common enemy.

That was one of the few success stories as of late in Iraq. Though many of the members of the Yazidi community holding out in the Sinjar Mountains have escaped into Kurdish territory with the help of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), thousands still remain trapped there. Humanitarian aid air drops by American and British aircraft have helped sustain them, but the situation continues to be dire as relief on the ground remains yet to be seen.

In the south, another attempt by Iraqi forces to take Tikrit failed in the face of withering machine gun and mortar fire, leaving them stalled some distance short of the city. Government forces arrayed around Baghdad remain largely on the defensive, with the occasional sortie against Tikrit being the most they have attempted in recent weeks.

James Foley

August 19th saw the release of a highly disturbing video showing the beheading of an American journalist named James Foley by a member of ISIS in what was claimed to be retaliation for the intervention by Foley’s home country. His murder was only the latest (and most high-profile) atrocity the group has perpetrated. ISIS has left a trail of massacres and devastation from the Lebanese border to the Baghdad suburbs, and it will take a concerted international effort to defeat them.

What’s to be done, though?

Three things need to begin immediately:

1) Haidar al-Abadi needs to form a genuinely inclusive government.

That may seem like an almost cliché line by now, given how many times it’s been uttered by members of the U.S. government. It may well be so, but it’s the truth. The last thing Iraq needs right now is Nouri al-Maliki part two. A real government of national unity is needed to help shepherd Iraq through this crisis.

2) Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurds need weapons, supplies, and the training to go along with them.

This is another line that hasn’t changed in recent weeks. Both the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the Kurds need weapons of just about every type, from machine guns to artillery to anti-armor weapons. They need the ammunition to feed those weapons, and other basic supplies to keep the forces in the field able to fight. It bears repeating, though, that there is no use shipping weapons systems to Iraq that no one knows how to use. More than that, though, solid training brings discipline, higher morale, and is the backbone of any real fighting force.

Kurdish Peshmerga troops near the Mosul Dam (Lynsey Addario).

The United States can and should establish a substantial advisory presence in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq proper. Not only will they be able to provide valuable training and support, but the sight of American troops will serve to inspire and encourage those fighting against ISIS in Iraq as they see that America is in fact with them.

America needs to get over its trepidation at getting too involved in Iraq. “Mission creep” seems to be the phrase of the day when it comes to talking about what to do there, but it is often a convenient out for people who don’t know how to reconcile their opposition to involvement in Iraq with their belief that ISIS is evil and needs to be stopped. There are already over a thousand American servicemen and women in country at the moment, whether in an advisory capacity, embassy protection, or coordinating air strikes. The fight against ISIS will require more men, more time, and more resources.

Some have postulated that the murder of James Foley is actually ISIS trying to goad the U.S. into wildly expanding the scope of military action not only in Iraq, but into Syria. Just as Osama bin Laden hoped to get the U.S. entangled in constant wars in the Middle East to weaken it, ISIS could be trying to get America stuck in another regional war that would outrage Muslims around the world. What would these enraged Muslims do? Join ISIS, of course. Could Foley’s murder be more than a warning or taunting gesture towards America? Could Foley’s murder be an attempt by ISIS to get America to skip the “mission creep” step and go right for a heavy-handed military response?

Possibly. Regardless of whether or not that turns out to be true, substantive American action along the lines of what was described above is well within the interests of the United States.

3) An international conference on fighting ISIS should be organized.

There is no reason for the United States and Iraq to be on their own in fighting ISIS. The substantial presence of Westerners in the groups’ ranks show that the threat is not confined to the Middle East. These Western members of ISIS could make their way to Europe and North America and bring violence to their home countries.

An international threat requires an international response. The UK has been actively assisting in surveillance missions and humanitarian aid air drops over Iraq, and France and Italy have shown that they are willing to do the same. Other European countries, like the Dutch, have been shipping large quantities of food and other supplies to northern Iraq.

More countries should be convinced to get actively involved, especially among Iraq’s neighbors. Jordan in particular comes to mind. The Kingdom has a capable and professional military, and is a reliable American ally. They could provide valuable support by taking a leading role in training the ISF. Arab governments should make their opposition to ISIS clear, and get that message to the streets and into the mosques. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia blasting ISIS as the number one enemy of Islam is exactly the sort of message that needs to be sent. The United States and the West can do the heavy lifting when it comes to military operations, but ISIS also represents a crisis within Sunni Islam that only members of that faith can address.

Coordination and cooperation is needed. The United States should take the lead in organizing a conference on defeating ISIS and aiding Iraq.

This is where things could get awkward. It is a political nightmare for the Obama administration to even contemplate working with Iran, yet there really is no other way if ISIS is to be defeated. Iran is Iraq’s neighbor, it has influence in the country, and is threatened by ISIS’ expansion. It would have just as much of a right to attend as Saudi Arabia would. The fact is that, from time to time, the interests of the United States and Iran will align. Americans need to come to terms with this. This was on display during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, when Iran was very much involved in fighting the Taliban in the area around Herat. This isn’t even a matter of strange bedfellows; it just makes sense. America and Iran can still be at odds over the latter’s nuclear program and still find a way to create some sort of working relationship in Iraq.

It gets even more awkward in regards to Syria. Both the Assad government and the rebels are fighting ISIS. Who would you invite? Assad? Both? Neither? An international conference has the potential to help roll back the ISIS tide, but it does also have the potential of sowing more anger and vitriol between regional governments.

ISIS preys on disunity and weakness, and so they must be faced by a united front. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and so the United States must be prepared to get in deeper in Iraq before it can get back out again.

Rest in peace, James Foley.

Garrett Khoury, a graduate of the George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs and an MA Candidate at Tel Aviv University, is the Director of Research and Content for The Eastern Project. Garrett has previously worked with The Israel Project in Jerusalem and The American Task Force on the Western Sahara in Washington, DC.

Cover Image: A victorious Peshmerga fighter near Mosul (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images )