Culture, history and heritage, all these elements define a civilisation and society for all times to come. That is why the fall of Palmyra to the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has the whole world holding its breath, anxiously waiting to see what this plague of destruction will do next. On Friday, IS finally managed to sink its bloodied fangs into one of the most ancient archeological sites in the world, the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. For a while there it seemed as though the rebel and allied forces were managing to beat back IS militants from this UNESCO protected heritage site. However, on Friday, forces loyal to the Assad regime in Damascus abandoned their military positions in the face of the advance of IS. That was the last straw and now, it seems, the militants have gained ground and are bracing themselves to do to Palmyra what they have done to revered sites elsewhere. Palmyra has been described by UNESCO as having “stood at the crossroads of several civilisations”. That the degenerate IS militants, who have no grain of civility within them, have gained hold of Palmyra is a tragic occurrence indeed. IS has already destroyed museum artifacts in Mosul, laid havoc to the Assyrian city of Nimrud and demolished the 2,000-year-old ruins of the Hatra site in Iraq. One can only imagine what it will do to the civilisational site of Palmyra. The west prides itself over its culture and heritage. How does it feel when it sees these barbarians at the gates of places like Palmyra, ancient sites without which the world would have no lasting artifacts and reminders of the history of civilization? Is the history of the Middle East not important? Is the fact that this region is losing all remnants of civility not the least bit worrying? The fact that this is happening in the first place can lend itself to the explanation that it is because of the failed policies of the west and imperial forces, arming proxy armies, empowering jihadist rebels to oust regimes and governments unfavourable to their interests. It is these jihadists who are now turning round to bite the hand that once fed them, from Afghanistan to Pakistan to Iraq, encouraging other copycat jihadists like Boko Haram and Jundullah to follow suit. The west needs to learn some hard lessons. IS is a plague that will not rest until the whole region and then the rest of the world is engulfed in flames. It is time to merge with other forces that are equally threatened by IS, such as the governments in Iran and Syria, to eliminate IS once and for all. This will be a hard pill for the international coalition to swallow but what is at stake is much more than pride and ego. *