World leaders vow to help fight IS Thirty countries have pledged to help Iraq fight Islamic State (IS) militants by all means necessary. A joint statement by foreign ministers taking part in a major conference in Paris said support would include appropriate military assistance. The talks had been called to agree a strategy to combat the group, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria. The meeting followed a whirlwind tour of the Middle East by US Secretary of State John Kerry.Mr Kerry, who attended the summit, has been drumming up support for a plan of action unveiled by President Barack Obama last week. The CIA estimates that Islamic State has between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. The murder of British aid worker David Haines by IS militants, shown in a video released by the group on Saturday, has added momentum to the plans. Iraqi President Fuad Masum, who co-hosted the conference with French President Francois Hollande, said the international community must pursue the jihadists quickly. Dozens of countries have now pledged to increase military support If this intervention and support to Iraq is late, that means that Islamic State could occupy more territory and the threat it poses will be even bigger, he said. The summit declaration said participants were committed to supporting the new Iraqi government in its fight... by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance. Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jafari welcomed the decision, but also said he regretted that Iran was not present at the Paris talks. Last week Mr Kerry ruled out co-operation with Iran citing its engagement in Syria and elsewhere. But Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed on Monday that the US had requested Irans co-operation via the US Ambassador to Iraq. I said no, because they have dirty hands, he said. He added the US was seeking seeking a pretext to do in Iraq and Syria what it already does in Pakistan - bomb anywhere without authorisation. Syria also did not take part in the Paris gathering. Meanwhile, France said it had begun surveillance flights over Iraq. Britain revealed in August that its aircraft had been gathering intelligence over Iraq. Several Arab countries have offered to take part in air strikes on IS fighters in Iraq, US officials say. Turkey, however, will only allow humanitarian and logistical operations from the Nato air base on its soil. Mr Kerry said he was extremely encouraged by promises of military assistance to tackle the militant. Mr Kerry has declared his coalition-building efforts in the Middle East a success, saying he won full-throated support from Sunni governments in the region for Americas campaign against Islamic State [Sunni] militants who have taken over one third of Syria and Iraq. But few specifics have been presented to flesh out this upbeat assessment in the scramble to craft a coherent plan from contributions offered by at least 40 countries worldwide in time for the UN General Assembly next week.The cornerstone of the trip was a communique signed in Jeddah by 10 Arab governments agreeing to do their share in the comprehensive fight against IS, including participation in a co-ordinated military campaign. The military details, at least, seem to be falling into place. The US strategy to weaken the group centres on military support for Iraq but also includes plans to stop foreign fighters from joining the group, cutting its funding streams and trying to counter its ideology. The Paris conference was aimed at defining the role each member state will play. About 40 countries have so far signed up to a coalition including 10 Arab states - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 17:48:20 +0000
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