Arab states 'offer help with air strikes' against Islamic State

[webfact]

Arab states 'offer help with air strikes' against Islamic State

(BBC) Several Arab countries have offered to take part in air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, US officials say.

But any action is subject to approval from the Iraqi government, they add.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says he is "extremely encouraged" by promises of military assistance to tackle the extremist group.

He spoke in Paris after a whirlwind tour of the Middle East trying to drum up support for action against IS.

France is due to host an international conference on Monday about Iraqi security and tackling IS.

On Saturday, the militant group released a video showing the beheading of UK hostage and aid worker David Haines. The group has threatened to kill a second Briton, Alan Henning, who also appeared in the video.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29198494


-- BBC 2014-09-15

[Ulic]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

[hhfarang]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

It's the world's problem, but everybody expects the U.S. to deal with it. Arab states will never fight unless they are directly attacked and then they are worthless. I lived in Saudi Arabia working on their air bases for four years and their military is a joke. They totally depend on the U.S. to protect them just as Kuwait did in the first Iraq war. The only people in the middle east with the power and guts to fight are the bad guys. But, at the very least, if the U.S. or a any western nations end up dealing with it, the rich Arab oil nations should foot the bill instead of the British and American taxpayers.

[dexterm]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

I agree. I think the coalition should keep its nose out of this conflict, before they are in so deep they cant extricate themselves.

Very interesting article in the Independent today about the strange allegiances that are forming. That's what makes me think the West has a hidden agenda in this conflict.

Islamic State: Widespread fear of Isis is producing strange bedfellows across the region

"In Iraq the Iranian controlled Shia militias, which used to specialise in killing American troops, have relieved the Shia town of Amerli, long besieged by Isis"

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/islamic-state-widespread-fear-of-isis-is-producingstrange-bedfellows-across-the-middle-east-9732382.html

[Krataiboy]

(BBC) Several Arab countries have offered to take part in air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, US officials say.

But any action is subject to approval from the Iraqi government, they add.

. . . and of course, the same goes for any air strikes on Syria.

[coma]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

Whilst Arabs are aggressive by nature, they are amongst the biggest cowards on the planet and don"t have the intestinal fortitude for open confrontation ( Hence remote IED's, suicide bombers and attacking civilians are their prefered weapons of choice).

The Iraqi Army is the perfect example cowardice. Has one seen a bigger coward than the Iraqi Army in the last 3 decades? All those years, lives lost and money spent training them and it was 'weapons down & run' soon as ISIL reared its ugly head.

I am happy to see Iraq's neighbours joining the coalition but it is more a welcome token gesture. Once again it is we that need to get down and dirty with the enemy.

[Chicog]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

It's the world's problem, but everybody expects the U.S. to deal with it. Arab states will never fight unless they are directly attacked and then they are worthless. I lived in Saudi Arabia working on their air bases for four years and their military is a joke. They totally depend on the U.S. to protect them just as Kuwait did in the first Iraq war. The only people in the middle east with the power and guts to fight are the bad guys. But, at the very least, if the U.S. or a any western nations end up dealing with it, the rich Arab oil nations should foot the bill instead of the British and American taxpayers.

The UAE have some experience though, having bombed Libya a couple of weeks ago.

[Chicog]

There's an awful lot of smoke and mirrors about what's reported. Who is funding the ISIS group? Look no further than some of the Arab states supposedly involved. Not necessarily the rulers themselves, but rich sheiks from Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar who support the Wahabi-style rule of ISIS.

I don't think that's the case at all. They supported Sunni fighters against two Shi'a governments, bu unfortunately they did not foresee this result, and now it's come back and is biting them in the rear. They are more scared than the West is.

So much so that they are aligning themselves with Iran in response.

[wwest5829]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

It's the world's problem, but everybody expects the U.S. to deal with it. Arab states will never fight unless they are directly attacked and then they are worthless. I lived in Saudi Arabia working on their air bases for four years and their military is a joke. They totally depend on the U.S. to protect them just as Kuwait did in the first Iraq war. The only people in the middle east with the power and guts to fight are the bad guys. But, at the very least, if the U.S. or a any western nations end up dealing with it, the rich Arab oil nations should foot the bill instead of the British and American taxpayers.

While I agree financing should, in good measure, be covered by the Middle Eastern countries most affected, I do not want American boots on the ground. I want to see Moslem troop opposition actively fighting ISIS in denouncing the terrorism.

[Ulysses G.]

I do not want American boots on the ground.

There are already American boots on the ground. Special forces are calling in the air strikes. Obama is ignoring that inconvenient fact to keep his left-wing base in line for the imminent election and because he ripped Bush apart for previous wars in the Middle East. Now, here he is getting involved in one himself

There is no way that this war can be won any time soon with no Western troops and right now, we need a strong leader who puts the reality of the situation above politics.

[Scott]

Conspiracy and off-topic posts and replies deleted.

[khunken]

There's an awful lot of smoke and mirrors about what's reported. Who is funding the ISIS group? Look no further than some of the Arab states supposedly involved. Not necessarily the rulers themselves, but rich sheiks from Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar who support the Wahabi-style rule of ISIS.

I don't think that's the case at all. They supported Sunni fighters against two Shi'a governments, bu unfortunately they did not foresee this result, and now it's come back and is biting them in the rear. They are more scared than the West is.

So much so that they are aligning themselves with Iran in response.

They supported and continue to support the 'rebels' in Syria. Qatar & Saudi are the main official supporters but we don't know which type of rebels they support.

Aligning themselves with Iran? Not likely as Iran is excluded from the latest 'coalition' from which no Arab states have lifted a finger so far.

[Chicog]

There's an awful lot of smoke and mirrors about what's reported. Who is funding the ISIS group? Look no further than some of the Arab states supposedly involved. Not necessarily the rulers themselves, but rich sheiks from Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar who support the Wahabi-style rule of ISIS.

I don't think that's the case at all. They supported Sunni fighters against two Shi'a governments, bu unfortunately they did not foresee this result, and now it's come back and is biting them in the rear. They are more scared than the West is.

So much so that they are aligning themselves with Iran in response.

They supported and continue to support the 'rebels' in Syria. Qatar & Saudi are the main official supporters but we don't know which type of rebels they support.

Aligning themselves with Iran? Not likely as Iran is excluded from the latest 'coalition' from which no Arab states have lifted a finger so far.

You are confusing America's desire not to do business with Iran with the Arab states' own fears of ISIS which has already resulted in Iran joining forces with Iraq to fight them.

In fact Iranian revolutionary guards have been fighting ISIS in Iraq since the beginning of August, and behind the scenes Saudi Arabia and Iran are in discussions.

Reports like this generally won't make the Western media, but they're there if you look.

“A Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is fundamental to confront the Daesh threat in the region,” Nader told The Daily Star, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “For Saudi Arabia, ISIS poses an existential threat, while the militant group poses a strategic threat for Iran.”

“Both countries have shown a great deal of pragmatism in the attempt to cooperate to face the Daesh threat,” said Nader, also the director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs (LISA), a Beirut-based think-tank. “A Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is a master key to defuse conflicts in the region, namely in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain.”

Nader said that strained Saudi-Iranian ties were going through “détente” that could lead to the beginning of a rapprochement.

“For now, [the] détente is based on a single subject, which is a common threat posed by ISIS. Both countries are facing the Daesh threat. This is why the confrontation by their proxies in the region has calmed down,” he said.

Signs of a thaw in strained Saudi-Iranian relations emerged last month when Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held an ice-breaking meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in the Saudi city Jeddah.

Abdollahian described the talks, which also covered the ISIS threat, as “positive and constructive.”

You have to remember that it's not so long ago that these two were at each others' throats, and Saudi were asking the US to "cut the head off the snake".

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Sep-06/269754-isis-brings-saudi-arabia-and-iran-closer.ashx#ixzz3DNOwRUXA

Edited September 15, 2014 by Chicog

[simple1]

I do not want American boots on the ground.

There are already American boots on the ground. Special forces are calling in the air strikes. Obama is ignoring that inconvenient fact to keep his left-wing base in line for the imminent election and because he ripped Bush apart for previous wars in the Middle East. Now, here he is getting involved in one himself

There is no way that this war can be won any time soon with no Western troops and right now, we need a strong leader who puts the reality of the situation above politics.

You might be interested in the PM of Australia massaging of sending 200 SF to Iraq

Mr Abbott said Australia was "not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-14/australia-to-deploy-military-force-to-uae/5742498

[khunken]

I don't think that's the case at all. They supported Sunni fighters against two Shi'a governments, bu unfortunately they did not foresee this result, and now it's come back and is biting them in the rear. They are more scared than the West is.

So much so that they are aligning themselves with Iran in response.

They supported and continue to support the 'rebels' in Syria. Qatar & Saudi are the main official supporters but we don't know which type of rebels they support.

Aligning themselves with Iran? Not likely as Iran is excluded from the latest 'coalition' from which no Arab states have lifted a finger so far.

You are confusing America's desire not to do business with Iran with the Arab states' own fears of ISIS which has already resulted in Iran joining forces with Iraq to fight them.

In fact Iranian revolutionary guards have been fighting ISIS in Iraq since the beginning of August, and behind the scenes Saudi Arabia and Iran are in discussions.

Reports like this generally won't make the Western media, but they're there if you look.

“A Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is fundamental to confront the Daesh threat in the region,” Nader told The Daily Star, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS. “For Saudi Arabia, ISIS poses an existential threat, while the militant group poses a strategic threat for Iran.”

“Both countries have shown a great deal of pragmatism in the attempt to cooperate to face the Daesh threat,” said Nader, also the director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs (LISA), a Beirut-based think-tank. “A Saudi-Iranian rapprochement is a master key to defuse conflicts in the region, namely in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain.”

Nader said that strained Saudi-Iranian ties were going through “détente” that could lead to the beginning of a rapprochement.

“For now, [the] détente is based on a single subject, which is a common threat posed by ISIS. Both countries are facing the Daesh threat. This is why the confrontation by their proxies in the region has calmed down,” he said.

Signs of a thaw in strained Saudi-Iranian relations emerged last month when Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian held an ice-breaking meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal in the Saudi city Jeddah.

Abdollahian described the talks, which also covered the ISIS threat, as “positive and constructive.”

You have to remember that it's not so long ago that these two were at each others' throats, and Saudi were asking the US to "cut the head off the snake".

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Sep-06/269754-isis-brings-saudi-arabia-and-iran-closer.ashx#ixzz3DNOwRUXA

Yes, I know that Iran is involved already. Chicog, thanks for the link which makes interesting reading. It does however have a 'wishful thinking' theme about it but it would be a very positive step if all it says is true.

The old motto 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' does play it's part in ME politics.

[Munsterman]

Let the Middle East sort out its own problems. We have shale oil and Canada oil and North Sea oil and Asian oil and in a few more years a load of wind power and wave power and solar power + electric cars. We don't need the middle east. So stay at home. Drink more beer. We can go to the middle east for holidays once its empty.

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I do not want American boots on the ground.

There are already American boots on the ground. Special forces are calling in the air strikes. Obama is ignoring that inconvenient fact to keep his left-wing base in line for the imminent election and because he ripped Bush apart for previous wars in the Middle East. Now, here he is getting involved in one himself
There is no way that this war can be won any time soon with no Western troops and right now, we need a strong leader who puts the reality of the situation above politics.

The main strategy of Military Forward Air Controllers is to remain undetected as they identify targets. They do not enage the enemy except in self defense and the preferrable manuever is to evacuate (aka "retreat") from the area. The typical connotation for "boots on the ground" is that military forces actively seeks and destroy enemy ground posiiton by use of ground forces, ie., Bush's Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Nothing deceptive here other than maybe your knowledge of military combat affairs.

The reality of the situation with ISIS is that it has a political objective fed by religious ideology instead of nationalism. The US and its allies are right to help stall that political effort for ISIS to create a jihadist state but it does remain the immediate and primary responsibility of the middle east countries to provide a permanent solution.

[Ulysses G.]

The typical connotation for "boots on the ground" is that military forces actively seeks and destroy enemy ground posiiton by use of ground forces, ie., Bush's Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Nothing deceptive here other than maybe your knowledge of military combat affairs.

Are you Jay Carney by any chance? Let's not get bogged down in semantics.

According to the Oxford dictionary:

Definition of boots on the ground in English: Ground troops who are on active service in a military operation.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/boots-on-the-ground

Edited September 15, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[Credo]

As I stated on another thread, ISIS does not pose a big threat to the West, at least not right now. It is a sectarian war with one Muslim sect against all other sects (and any infidels in the region). It doesn't mean they might not end up being a threat to the West, but right now they are only a threat in that part of the world.

The powers-that-be in the ME had better get their butts in gear because the next heads that get chopped off are likely to be theirs.

The West wants to keep their finger on the pulse of what is happening, but there is no need to rush in until we know what we are doing and why. We need to gather a great deal of intelligence before becoming too active.

[cookee68]

Help? They should be at the front of the line leading the charge. It is a Middle East/ Arabic problem

and should be solved by them.

It's the world's problem, but everybody expects the U.S. to deal with it. Arab states will never fight unless they are directly attacked and then they are worthless. I lived in Saudi Arabia working on their air bases for four years and their military is a joke. They totally depend on the U.S. to protect them just as Kuwait did in the first Iraq war. The only people in the middle east with the power and guts to fight are the bad guys. But, at the very least, if the U.S. or a any western nations end up dealing with it, the rich Arab oil nations should foot the bill instead of the British and American taxpayers.

well put and well said, and I 100% agree with you

[Chicog]

The old motto 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' does play it's part in ME politics.

That's exactly what I was thinking!