The US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, had received offers from Arab states on joining the coalition to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS). Such powerful countries of the Middle East as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are expected to join the strike on Islamic State’s targets in Syria and Iraq, New York Times reports.
Photo: theguardian.com
The US Secretary of the State, John Kerry, confirmed over the weekend that the USA had Arab allies who were prepared to join in strikes on the Islamists. As reported by The Guardian, Saudi Arabia was now far more willing to play a role in the campaign on the Iraqi territory, rather than during the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 invasion to defeat the regime of Saddam Hussein.
However, Turkey, which borders on both Iraq and Syria, has quietly made clear that it would not take part or allow its bases to be used for combat operations – a disappointment coming from NATO’s only Muslim member.
According to western diplomats, these proposals came from the widespread condemnation of the murder of the British hostage, David Haines, and a pledge by Australia to help the military effort. Haines is the third western hostage beheaded on camera by ISIS.
David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, denounced the killing of an innocent aid worker, tagged it “an act of pure evil”.
“They are not Muslims, they are monsters,” the prime minister noted during a meeting with the press on September 14, 2014, Sunday.
The US President, Barack Obama, also condemned the killing: “The United States strongly condemns the barbaric murder of UK citizen David Haines by the terrorist group ISIS,” he said, using his administration’s preferred acronym for the Islamist rebels in the region.
“Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Haines and to the people of the United Kingdom. The United States stands shoulder to shoulder tonight with our close friend and ally in grief and resolve. We will work with the UK and a broad coalition of nations from the region and around the world to bring the perpetrators of this outrageous act to justice, and to degrade and destroy this threat to the people of our countries, the region and the world,” Obama assured.
Today, September 15, 2014, Paris John Kerry is meeting foreign ministers from around the world in Paris, Frane, to discuss how to defeat the terrorists.
About 40 countries, including 10 Arab states, have signed up to a coalition to help fight IS in Iraq and Syria.
The official also noted that said he was “extremely encouraged” by promises of military assistance to tackle the militant group.
Photo: BBC
Islamic State (ISIS) controls large parts of Iraq and Syria. The CIA estimates that the group could have as many as 30,000 fighters in the region. Since August 2014, US fighter jets have conducted about 160 air strikes on positions of Islamists in Iraq.
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