Arab Governments Agree to 'Confront' IS Jihadists
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Arab states agreed on Sunday to take the "necessary measures" to confront Islamic State militants, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said, after a meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo.
"The Arab foreign ministers have agreed to take the necessary measures to confront terrorist groups including" IS, said Arabi at a news conference, without explicitly supporting U.S. calls for a coalition to back its air campaign against the militants in Iraq.
"What is needed is a clear decision for a comprehensive confrontation, militarily and politically," Arabi said, a day after he and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed taking action against the jihadist group that controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.
The United States is looking for broad support for its campaign against the jihadist group, which its air force has already targeted in Iraq.
An Arab League diplomat told reporters that the ministers were considering adopting a resolution on combating IS and "coordinating with the United States to confront this terrorist organization".
Iraq earlier welcomed U.S. President Barack Obama's plan for an international coalition against jihadists as a "strong message of support," after repeatedly calling for aid against the militants.
Obama outlined the plan at a NATO summit Friday for a broad coalition to defeat IS, which led an offensive that overran parts of Iraq in June and also holds significant territory in neighboring Syria.
IS, originally an al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq that expanded in the Syrian conflict, claims its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the rightful leader, or Caliph, of all Muslims.
The group's astonishing rise in Syria and neighboring Iraq caught the weak government in Baghdad, and much of the region, off guard.
Arabi said IS posed a threat to the existence of Iraq and other states in the region.
"What is happening in Iraq is that the terrorist organization not only threatens a state's authority, but threatens its very existence and the existence of other states," he said.
The United States expanded on Sunday its month-long air campaign against the militants in Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, hitting IS fighters west of the capital Baghdad as Iraq troops launched a ground assault.
Aside from fighting in Iraq, Arab states are concerned that IS is coordinating with domestic extremists and that militants who travelled to fight with them may conduct attacks when they return home.
In Egypt, several militants who have carried out attacks on security forces since the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi had travelled to fight in Syria.
The main Egyptian militant group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, has not publicly pledged its loyalty to IS but has referred to the jihadists as "brothers".
07 September 2014, 19:37
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According to ft .... "no foreign help comes for free. demanding foreign help comes with its strings attached"
The only exception to ft rule is HA. HA's assistance, training and financing has No Strings Attached to it. Same with HA intervening in Syria, No Strings Attached and no payoff to Iran strategy in the region.
07 September 2014, 20:51
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For god's sake whatever you do if you capture any ISIL terrorists don't put them in Assad's jails he'll let them loose again and then buy gas from them and you'll have to do the whole thing over.
07 September 2014, 23:57
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Flamethrower, are you on drugs? Seriously what was the point in your argument with Texas? The Arabs need to confront ISIS (let's see if they really do). It doesn't matter if the Arabs are buying weapons or being supplied, the point is they have weapons (Egypt was getting $1 billion in military aid annually is one example), and personally I hold them responsible for the spread of IS' power.
Bigjohn, what is it with your obsession with the Palestinian cause and your radical anti-Semitism? It had nothing to do with this article and you always find a way to bring it up. There is no Palestinian cause because the Palestinians fought themselves, as seen in the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007. Say all you want about Fatah collaborating with the Israeli enemy, but the truth is if the Palestinians are divided how is there a cause?
08 September 2014, 19:02
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First of all, I lived in Lebanon for 8 years. I don't have contact with the Israeli cancer, nor do I plan on flying Israeli and IS flags. Second, your Mandela analogy doesn't even make sense. Third, I never said you can't write against Israel, but you write like a Nazi. The way you write is disgusting, and you might not piss me off, but someone else could get pissed off and look for you. Your views are very radical and inappropriate on a forum. If you have a problem with the Arab dictators then why don't you go on other forums and spread your propaganda. Let the Arabs overthrow their dictators so when they have "competent" leaders they can attack Israel (I wonder how that'd turn out). There's a difference between people saying Israel is a threat on a poll, and shooting missiles at it. Hamas and Hezbollah are the only two doing that, as all the Arabs have made some kind of truce with Israel.
08 September 2014, 06:40
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Bigjohn if KSA media isn't "Arab" then what is, al-Manar? And what poll says Israel is "the biggest threat to the Arab masses"? Isn't this article titled Arab Governments Agree to Confront IS Jihadists, not the "Israeli expansionist terrorist state"? Maybe none of the Arabs want to fight the Israeli cancer. Maybe the only one fighting Israel is Iran through its terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah, and maybe there would be peace in the Middle East right now if these two groups didn't exist.
No one wants to hear your anti-Semitic rants, they're annoying. And stop with your Darwinist predictions, you're a psychopath.
