President Barack Obama must have a "just resolve" in his campaign against the Islamic State (ISIS) that's as clear as his reason for engaging the terrorist organization, says former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
"I think the president did right by trying to stop it. We have to remain human beings under all the circumstances, and I know the president will just say you go to war when you have a just reason. But you have to say you have a just resolve. In this case, there is a move so alarming that the results must be clear, too," Peres told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday.
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The march of ISIS in the Middle East is "destroying state after state" as the militants attempt to "put an end to the integrity of Lebanon, of Syria, of Iraq, of Yemen, of Libya," Peres explained, adding that the fight against them is unlike most wars in history.
"It's not a classical military war, where you have two camps and two nations, and you have a line and you have a purpose. Here, I mean, the purpose is a protest, and the goal is to return to the seventh century," he said.
Peres said Israel's longstanding issues with Palestinians in Gaza came as a surprise after the Israelis turned over the territory.
"We left Gaza unilaterally. Nobody forced us. We told the Arabs, the Palestinians, here, you have it free and open. And they started to shoot at us. So, we asked why, what is the reason? Why, what is the purpose?" he said.
While there were some who were optimistic about peace, he said he was not, but said that somehow "we have to make peace."
On Iran, Peres said he was not in favor of using military force against it if it wants to pursue the development of nuclear weapons, maintaining that sanctions have been "quite effective." He suggested Iran had problems within its culture that were not readily evident outside the country.
"I think Iran has internal problems that we don't see so much. There's the young generation, which is sick and tired of their system, the discrimination of women, ignorance of young. Granted there are some serious cultural problems, so it's not as simple as when you read the newspapers," he said.
With 400 million people in the Middle East, Peres said most of them are poor, with the majority under the age of 25. While they "don't have jobs, don't have wealth, don't have hope," he said they do have youth, and they could better their lives by having access to modern technology.
"They need an Internet. They need the instruments that will open the gates to the new age. There is no other solution but enter the new age," he said.
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