Saudi Arabia to host talks with US, regional states on Thursday

[Al Bhatti]

September 9, 2014

Saudi Arabia to host talks with US, regional states on Thursday
US, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and all six GCC members to attend

Saudi Arabia will hold talks about militant violence in the region on Thursday with the United States and Muslim allies, the kingdom announced on Tuesday, in an apparent attempt to support international efforts to tackle crises in Iraq and Syria.

The kingdom is unnerved by the rapid advance of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) — a militant group that has overrun swathes of Iraq and Syria — and fears it could radicalise some of its own citizens and lead to attacks on the government.

“The meeting will tackle the issue of terrorism in the region and the extremist organisations that stand behind it and the means of addressing it,” a statement carried on the official Saudi Press Agency said.

It said the participants would include Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and member states of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which in addition to the kingdom comprises the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

Arab League foreign ministers agreed on Sunday to take all necessary measures to confront Isil.

President Barack Obama, who has authorised weeks of air strikes in Iraq to check advances by Isil fighters, would like Gulf Arab states to consider military action as well, and would like to see them support Sunni Muslim moderates in Iraq and Syria who could undermine the appeal of Isil.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is to travel to Saudi Arabia and Jordan in the coming week for talks with Gulf leaders to determine whether they are prepared to back up their anti-jihadist rhetoric with action.

Saudi Arabia to host talks with US, regional states on Thursday | GulfNews.com

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September 10, 2014

UAE ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, said in an article in the Wall Street Journal that the UAE is prepared to join international efforts against ISIL.

UAE ready to join anti-ISIL coalition

The UAE is “ready to join a coordinated international response” to combat Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria, the ambassador to Washington has said, signalling that Abu Dhabi is prepared to contribute to international military action against the militants.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal two days before the US secretary of state meets with foreign ministers from the GCC, Jordan and Egypt to convince them to take part in US-led efforts against ISIL, Yousef Al Otaiba also said that a strategy limited to only fighting that group and not Islamist militancy more broadly would ultimately fail.

“The Islamic State may be the most obvious and dominant threat at present, but it is far from the only one,” Mr Al Otaiba wrote. “An international response must confront dangerous Islamist extremists of all stripes across the region”, including Al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, Libya and Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.

His comments were the UAE’s most detailed public statement addressing Barack Obama’s push for an international and regional coalition to, in the US president’s words, “degrade and ultimately defeat” the insurgent group that has captured large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Mr Obama will deliver a rare prime time address to Americans on Wednesday night laying out a strategy that is the culmination of weeks of deliberations within his administration and with policy experts in Washington and members of Congress from both parties.

ABC News reported on Tuesday that Mr Obama asked the legislators to immediately approve a US military training programme for western- and Arab-backed Syrian rebels. US officials have said the lack of a reliable moderate force is a factor in preventing US airstrikes against ISIL strongholds in Syria, for fear that a power vacuum would be filled by other extremists or the Al Assad regime.

Arabian Gulf countries have long called for increased training for vetted rebels, and Mr Al Otaiba’s comments endorsed strengthening “local forces … that are directly engaging the extremists”, adding that this should be supplemented with “assets like air support, surveillance and special forces”.

The UAE has provided such support in the past through multilateral counterterrorism and peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Somalia, he wrote.

Mr Obama and US officials have made clear that the key element of his plan will be the support of regional partners who can, among other things, uniquely provide on-the-ground intelligence and exert pressure and influence on Sunnis in Iraq and Syria to take on ISIL.

To be successful, any US effort against ISIL cannot be seen as a war on Sunnis, and the role of Gulf countries, Jordan and Turkey adds legitimacy.

“For some it will mean contributing to the desperately needed humanitarian relief effort. For some it will mean helping to identify, track, and cut off ISIL’s funding, and prevent the flow of foreign fighters,” the US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.

So far, there have been no commitments made by these US allies, some of whom have competing interests even as they all oppose ISIL, and want to ensure that the US strategy does not strengthen adversaries in the process, analysts said.

Gulf leaders are also still sceptical about Washington’s commitment on a number of fronts, most importantly in Syria, where Mr Obama has backed away from strong action before.

Their level of involvement in the US plan could hinge on Mr Kerry’s meetings with GCC foreign ministers in Jeddah on Thursday.

“They’re waiting to see what Kerry shows up with this week,” said a source in Washington familiar with Gulf deliberations. “It has to be a true partnership.”

The Sunni-led countries will not “go beyond their respective comfort zones in terms of effort and risk unless they are utterly convinced that the United States is orchestrating the overall effort and will do so for the duration”, Frederic C Hof, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, wrote on the centre’s website on Tuesday.

But the hurdles to convincing the Arab countries and Turkey will be high, analysts said. They are wary that airstrikes in Syria against ISIL without significant support for Free Syrian Army rebels could strengthen Bashar Al Assad’s regime, and by extension his patron, Iran.

The US has conducted more than 130 airstrikes to support Iraqi forces, Kurdish peshmerga and Sunni tribal fighters battling ISIL in Iraq. But they have also backed up Shia militias and their Iranian battlefield advisers. Gulf countries do not want Shia Islamist forces backed by Tehran to be empowered, which would further alienate Sunni Arab Iraqis.

“I heard someone very important [in the Gulf] asking an American ambassador, ‘why is ISIS a redline but Hizbollah’s intervention in Syria and killing civilians was not? Why was Mosul not a redline but Irbil is a redline?’”, said Mustafa Alani, a senior analyst at the Geneva-based Gulf Research Centre.

As part of the US plan, UAE officials want the US and European countries to more comprehensively shut down financial and “ideological” networks that could fund extremists in Syria and Iraq.

While Qatar and Kuwait were described by a senior US treasury department official earlier this year as “permissive” terrorist funding environments and terror designations against individuals in Kuwait have increased recently, Qatar has proved itself useful to the US, helping free American hostages held by Al Qaeda affiliates and maintaining a close relationship with US intelligence, according to analysts.

“Backing these support networks and organisations is a sophisticated ideological, financial and communications complex that includes countries, charities, companies and individuals,” Mr Al Otaiba wrote.

“It must be choked off through an organised programme of better intelligence, more-aggressive law enforcement and tougher sanctions.”

UAE ready to join anti-ISIL coalition | The National

 

[Al Bhatti]

14 September 2014

GCC envoys may return to their offices in Doha

Shaikh Khalid said a meeting will be held after a couple of days in Paris to form wider coalition and international mobilisation to confront the ISIS.

Ambassadors of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE may return to their offices in Qatar at any time, said Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Shaikh Khalid referred to an agreement concluded at a meeting held in Jeddah in August to solve issues between Qatar and other GCC states.

Regarding arrangements by the international coalition to fight the ISIS, Shaikh Khalid said a meeting will be held after a couple of days in Paris to form wider coalition and international mobilisation to confront the ISIS using military power, but “we have to first disband the ISIS from inside”.

“We have to solve the ISIS problem first from within our countries than outside. How do our sons join such terrorist organisations?” he wondered.In reply to Iran’s demand to join such an international coalition to fight terrorism, the minister said that any attempt made by any party to combat terrorism is good and would help the security of the region.

Asked about the current situation in Egypt, Shaikh Khalid said Egypt is moving on the right track as the present Egyptian government has determined the shortcomings and began fixing them.

He reiterated Bahrain’s solidarity with Egypt as the latter has stood by Manama during the past decades. He revealed a joint Egyptian-Bahraini coordination to handle current issues, especially the region’s stand in the face of terrorism.

GCC envoys may return to their offices in Doha - Khaleej Times

 

[Al Bhatti]

@Mosamania @Arabian Knight @Arabian Legend @BLACKEAGLE @Horus and others

Any input?

-------------------

September 14, 2014

Australia would prepare and send to the UAE up to eight Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 combat aircraft as a part of the international coalition in a bid to counter the ISIL terrorist threat.

Australia to use UAE as base for ISIL attacks

The UAE is to be used as a base for eight military aircraft and 600 personnel from Australia as part of the international coalition in a bid to counter the ISIL terrorist threat.

Some factors Australia will be taking into consideration include force protection and security, mission planning and intelligence gathering to ensure the safety of their military advisers.

“The UAE was chosen for the base of this operation as it is the Middle East headquarters of Australia’s defence force,” said Pablo Kang, Australia’s ambassador to the UAE.

“In terms of the geography and logistics, there is a reason why we have a base here in terms of proximity, logistics and our very strong relationship with the UAE.”

Australia’s prime minister, Tony Abbott, announced that the Australian defence force would prepare and send to the UAE up to eight Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 combat aircraft, an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft and a KC-30A multi-role tanker and transport aircraft. He said a special operations task group would also be sent as military advisers who could assist Iraqi and other security forces “that are taking the fight to the ISIL terrorists”.

About 600 military personnel – 400 air and 200 military – will be involved in the operation.

“We think this is a balanced and proportionate contribution to what is not our fight, but the world’s fight,” Mr Abbott said. “There are at least 60 Australians that we know of working with terrorist groups in the Middle East and at least 100 that we know of [in Australia] and abroad that are supporting terrorist groups in the Middle East.”

He said the UAE was one of many countries, including Bahrain and Jordan, that had indicated it was prepared to contribute to military operations inside Iraq.

“We could see the air elements departing in the next week or so,” he said. “We could see the military elements departing sooner.”

Mr Kang said the prime minister had been in talks with many regional leaders, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who Mr Abbott said shared the Australian government’s “grave concern about the situation in Iraq”.

“This is very much a humanitarian operation in terms of the people of Iraq,” Mr Kang said. “It’s also a matter of security for us and international security. Australia has a very close military and strategic relationship with the UAE.”

He said the request for assistance had come from the Iraqi government.

“We’ve been talking closely to the Americans coordinating this coalition of countries, but it is much broader than Australia or the US,” he said.

“The prime minister has made it clear that this isn’t something that will be a short-term operation. This is obviously a threat that needs to be degraded over the longer term and that will take more than a few weeks.”

Australian personnel will be placed in US headquarters in the UAE.

“There is, within the UAE, a range of different bases and there is a range of different countries which operate out of those bases,” Mr Kang said. “So there is no final decision on where exactly yet but we are working that through.”

Australia’s Al Minhad air base in Dubai has already served to deliver weapons and humanitarian airdrops in Iraq.

“We want to deploy from places where we have a strong relationship, a history of cooperation and a very solid bilateral relationship. Logistically, it also makes sense.”

Dr Theodore Karasik, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, said the movement of these aircraft to the GCC was part of the developing nature of the air-power requirements for attacking targets in ISIL territory, with augmentations of command and control in one package.

“The Australian assets are also useful because of their inter-operational capability with other coalition partners,” Dr Karasik said.


Australia to use UAE as base for ISIL attacks | The National
--------------------------------

September 14, 2014

Australia sends 600 troops to UAE to prepare for ISIL campaign
Australia will deploy 600 troops to the UAE to join the US-led international coalition gearing up for war against ISIL militants.

The deployment comes two days after Canberra lifted its terror alert level to “high” on growing concern about Australian extremists returning from fighting in Iraq and Syria.

Tony Abbott, the prime minister, said the deployment of about “400 air personnel and about 200 military personnel” followed a formal request from Washington for Australia to contribute to the international coalition against the rampaging Islamist group.

He said Australia was “not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening”.

“There are obviously further decisions to be taken before Australian forces will be committed to combat operations in Iraq,” Mr Abbott said.

“Nevertheless, Australia is prepared to engage in international operations to disrupt and degrade ISIL because of the threat that this murderous death cult poses not just to the people of Iraq, not just to the people of the Middle East, but to the whole world including to Australia.”

The US has been working to forge a coalition against ISIL fighters in Iraq and Syria, with secretary of state John Kerry in the Middle East to shore up Arab support.

The Australian deployment to UAE, a staging post for the country’s military operations into the region, will include eight RAAF F/A18 combat aircraft, an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker and Transport aircraft.

The defence force was also preparing special forces soldiers to serve as military advisers to assist Iraqi and other security forces tackling ISIL, the prime minister said.

Mr Abbott said the deployment was focused on Iraq and not Syria.

“At this point in time, Australia is not intending to operate in Syria,” he said. “The legalities of operating in Iraq with the consent and welcome of the Iraqi government are obviously very different from the legalities of operating in Syria, which has a government that Australia doesn’t recognise.”

Mr Abbott said if combat operations took place, they could last “months rather than weeks, perhaps many, many months indeed”.

Australia sends 600 troops to UAE to prepare for ISIL campaign | The National

 

[Al Bhatti]

14 September 2014

Paris conference aims to divide up tasks in ISIS fight
Who strikes and where? Who provides the weapons? Who provides the intelligence? And who provides the cash?

The international conference in Paris on Monday that gathers some 20 countries from the anti-ISIS coalition will seek to divide up the roles between nations with often diverging interests.

“This conference will allow everyone to be much more precise about what they can do or are willing to do,” said a French diplomatic source, who did not wish to be named.

However, any decisions taken at the conference, jointly hosted by French President Francois Hollande and Iraqi President Fuad Masum, will not necessarily be made public, the source stressed.

“We’re not going to say who is going to carry out air strikes. Or when they might happen.”

Most countries will be represented by their foreign ministers and the conference will be the last stop of a marathon tour by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been criss-crossing the region to build as broad a coalition as possible against the ISIS militants.

But the run-up to the conference has been marked by thorny questions surrounding the position of Russia — embroiled in a diplomatic row with the West over Ukraine — and Iran, a major regional player but which has sought to link other issues to its cooperation against ISIS.

In the week leading up to the conference, the burning question was whether Iran would come or not, after France indicated Tehran might receive an invitation if it agreed not to link concessions over its sensitive nuclear programme.

However, Kerry slapped down the possibility, telling reporters it would “not be appropriate, given the many other issues that are on the table with respect to their engagement in Syria and elsewhere.”

Tehran has offered help to Iraq in fighting the ISIS militants that have taken a swathe of land in the north of the country but has also backed the discredited Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad.


A spurned Iran said Saturday that they didn’t want to come anyway, saying the conference had a “selective guest list” and was “just for show.”

Another tricky country to deal with is Turkey, which shares borders with Syria and Iraq and remains a close US ally with the NATO alliance, but is reluctant to be pulled too deeply into the conflict given that ISIS militants hold 49 Turkish citizens, including children and diplomats.

“We have to be sure that the left hand doesn’t contradict what the right hand is doing” in the coalition, said the French diplomat.

French foreign ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said: “We are looking to bring together the aims and initiatives” on the military, humanitarian and financial fronts.

Nadal said there would be concrete decisions announced at the conference and a plan of action drawn up.

But another stumbling block is Syria — of which ISIS controls roughly a quarter, compared to approximately 40 per cent of Iraq.


Washington has voiced a willingness to strike at ISIS in Syria without the backing of Assad, while others are more hesitant.


In London, while Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will not rule anything out, Foreign Minister Philip Hammond stressed Britain would not take part in strikes against ISIS in Syria, after parliament last year voted against taking military action in that country.


Britain’s resolve may well have been stiffened however, by the execution of one of its citizens, aid worker David Haines, by ISIS militants.


France is unwilling to take part in action that is not backed by the UN Security Council, which is unlikely to approve military strikes given Russian and Chinese opposition.


Hollande has repeatedly stressed that there is no question of working with Assad to battle militants in Syria and French diplomats seemed keen to focus on one problem at a time.


“If we want this conference to be useful, we should not mix up the problem areas. The heart of the problem at the moment is Iraq.”

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-arti...middleeast_September86.xml&section=middleeast

 

[Al Bhatti]

September 15, 2014

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (2R) stands at attention next to the Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces Lieutenant General Hamad Mohammed, Thani Al-Rumaithi (R), during a welcoming ceremony at the Al-Dhafra base, about 32 kilometres south of Abu Dhabi on September 15, 2014.

France begins spy flights over Iraq
Britain had already been conducting extensive surveillance flights over Iraq but will now carry out reconnaissance flights

France has joined Britain in carrying out reconnaissance flights in support of the US air campaign against Islamist militants launched in Iraq early last month, the defence minister said on Monday.

“This very morning, the first reconnaissance flights will be carried out in agreement with the Iraqi authorities,” Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

Le Drian’s comments came as Paris prepared to host an international conference on a fightback against militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), who have seized swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

The conference has been given added urgency by the beheading of a third Western hostage, British aid worker David Haines, on Saturday.

Britain had already been conducting extensive surveillance flights over Iraq in support of the US from its regional base in Cyprus, but has so far held back from carrying out strikes on Isil targets.

France begins spy flights over Iraq | GulfNews.com

 

[Al Bhatti]

Two Rafael fighter jets equipped with high precision cameras took off yesterday during the above ceremony as per the agreement between Iraqi and UAE authorities.

 

[Mosamania]

As I said, GCC nations are more than prepared to combat ISIS and other terrorists directly and by all means available, but the question is, will Iraq agree to fellow Arab assistance or not?

 

[1000]

As I said, GCC nations are more than prepared to combat ISIS and other terrorists directly and by all means available, but the question is, will Iraq agree to fellow Arab assistance or not?

Why don't you combat the ISIS HQ then, your neighbor Qatar as the German foreign minister and the US military general have both confirmed.

He said allies, Qatar is for sure so who else ?

 

[Mosamania]

Why don't you combat the ISIS HQ then, your neighbor Qatar as the German foreign minister and the US military general have both confirmed.

He said allies, Qatar is for sure so who else ?

As you probably heard relations with KSA and Qatar was severely strained to the point of recalling diplomats and making a substantial military threat (Moving the Second Naval Fleet around Qatar) until they finally complied. So even in that area we did our part.

 

[Al Bhatti]

September 19, 2014

A handout picture taken by EMA and released on September 15, 2014 by ECPAD shows two Rafale fighter jets flying on a reconnaissance mission over Iraq.

A file picture taken on September 15, 2014 shows French military support staff walking towards a Rafale fighter jet during at Al-Dhafra base. French jets carried out their first air strike against Islamic State militants in Iraq on September 19, 2014, successfully destroying their target, President Francois Hollande announced, vowing that more operations would follow. France has six Rafale fighter jets and just under 1,000 soldiers based in the Gulf and could even mobilise an aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle.



France strikes Isil's depot in Iraq
France's airstrike in Iraq Friday morning 'entirely destroyed' a logistics depot held by Isil: Hollande's office

Joining US forces acting in Iraqi skies, France conducted its first airstrike Friday against the militant Islamic State group, destroying a logistics depot that it controlled, the French presidency said.

Rafale fighter jets involved in the mission struck the depot in northeastern Iraq on Friday morning, and the target was "entirely destroyed," President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement.

"Other operations will follow in the coming days," the statement said, without elaborating on the type of material at the depot or its exact location.

With the strike, France becomes the first foreign country to publicly add military muscle to United States airstrikes against the group, which has drawn criticism around the world and in a unanimous UN Security Council resolution for its barbarity.

US airstrikes
US Central Command said Thursday the US military has conducted 176 airstrikes in Iraq since Aug. 8. On Wednesday, it hit a militant training camp southeast of Mosul and an ammunition stockpile southeast of Baghdad.

It has also conducted a number of strikes this week in Iraq's Anbar province, near the strategic Haditha Dam.

The French airstrike took place while US Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in France for meetings with his counterpart, Gen. Pierre de Villiers. The two men were visiting an American military cemetery in Normandy, on the English Channel, when the French strike took place.

Dempsey, who was told of the attack by de Villiers, praised the French action, saying it hit a target north of Mosul.

He did not specify.

"The French were our very first ally and they are there again for us," Dempsey told reporters traveling with him in Normandy. "It just reminds me why these relationships really matter."

At a news conference a day earlier, Hollande said France had agreed to "soon" conduct airstrikes requested by Iraq to bolster its fight against the militants who have captured swaths of the country.

He stressed that France wouldn't go beyond airstrikes in support of the Iraqi military or Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and wouldn't attack targets in Syria, where the Islamic State group has also captured territory.

French jets on Monday began flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq involving Rafales and an ATL2 surveillance plane, military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron said.

France strikes Isil's depot in Iraq | GulfNews.com

 

[Al Bhatti]

September 19, 2014

A photo provided by the French Army on September 19, 2014, shows a pilot navigating his Rafale fighter jet for a mid-air refuelling en route to Iraq.

France promises more attacks after first Iraq airstrikes

French fighter jets struck against ISIL in Iraq on Friday, destroying a logistics depot and killing dozens of militants, Iraqi and French officials said.

The attack made France the first foreign country to publicly add military muscle to United States airstrikes against the extremist group. Two Rafale fighter jets accompanied by support planes struck in northern Iraq on Friday morning, and the target was “entirely destroyed”, the French president Francois Hollande said.

A French military official said four laser-guided bombs struck a Iraqi military installation that had been overrun by the militants, and hit a munitions and fuel depot.

The Iraqi military said dozens of extremist fighters were killed in four strikes, though the French official said the damage assessment had not been completed.

“Other operations will follow in the coming days with the same goal – to weaken this terrorist organization and come to the aid of the Iraqi authorities,” Mr Hollande said.

Qassim Al Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman, said the French planes hit near the town of Zumar, in an area that remains heavily contested by ISIL fighters, even though Iraqi and Kurdish security forces have managed to make headway nearby with the support of US airstrikes.

Mr Hollande, who said the airstrikes were requested by Iraq’s government, ruled out French troops on the ground.

The first French airstrikes in Iraq have added significance: France, one of America’s oldest allies, was among the most vocal critics of the decision of the then US president George W Bush to conduct military action in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The US president Barack Obama has called for a global coalition to defeat ISIL, which has drawn criticism around the world and in a unanimous UN Security Council resolution for its barbarity.

Along with reports of mass executions of rival fighters and civilians, footage of the beheading of two US journalists and a British aid worker in Syria sparked international outrage and spurred calls for tougher action against the group.

Mr Obama has pledged to support Kurdish and Iraqi federal forces by offering air support and arms, as well as targeting intelligence and training.

On Thursday, Congress backed his plan to arm Syrian rebels to take on ISIL in conjunction with airstrikes inside Syria, where it controls large areas.

“These terrorists thought they could frighten us, or intimidate us, or cause us to shrink from the world,” Mr Obama said, after a rare moment of bipartisanship in the House.

“But today they’re learning the same hard lesson of petty tyrants and terrorists who have gone before.”

France’s military action appeared to win qualified endorsement from Iraq’s top Shiite leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani.

In a Friday sermon, delivered by one of his aides, the elderly cleric acknowledged Iraq needed foreign help but said the country must not become subservient to outside powers.

“Even if Iraq is in need of help from its brothers and friends in fighting black terrorism, maintaining the sovereignty and independence of its decisions is of the highest importance,” the ayatollah’s spokesman said.

ISIL fighters, who have controlled much of Syria’s eastern oil and agricultural provinces for more than a year, swept through mainly Sunni Muslim regions of north Iraq in mid-June, seizing cities including Mosul and Tikrit and halting only a few dozen kilometres north of the capital Baghdad.

The US launched airstrikes against the group on April 8 to prevent “genocide” of minority communities in northern Iraq and protect its interests in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region.

Since then, the US has conducted 176 airstrikes in Iraq, its military central command said on Thursday. On Wednesday, it hit a militant training camp south-east of Mosul and an ammunition stockpile south-east of Baghdad. It has also conducted a number of strikes this week in Iraq’s Anbar province, near the strategic Haditha Dam.

Mr Hollande has tressed that France will not go beyond airstrikes in support of the Iraqi military or Kurdish peshmerga forces, and will not attack targets in Syria.

France is conducting operations in Iraq from French Air Base 104 inside the vast Al Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi. French jets began flying reconnaissance missions over Iraq on Monday.

The base, home to about 700 French service personnel and six Rafales, is 1,700km from Mosul, meaning that the planes need midair refuelling to strike in Iraq.

France could also mobilise its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, which is now docked in southeastern France and would need at least five days to reach the eastern Mediterranean. The ship can carry about 30 planes including Rafales, Super-Etendards and U.S-built E-2C Hawkeye surveillance aircraft.

France promises more attacks after first Iraq airstrikes | The National

 

[Al Bhatti]

September 20, 2014

GCC states to be grand players in Isil fight

They will be forced to pay the huge cost of dealing with this acute crisis. It is widely recognised by experts that unless there are ‘boots on the ground’, nothing can be achieved


In the end, it was clear from events unfolding in the Middle East that the burden of fighting terror in the region would mainly fall, financially and probably militarily, on the shoulders of the GCC countries.


The six Arab Gulf states were among those present at the summit held in Jeddah on September 11 to adopt new measures to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and other terrorist groups in the region. Ten nations came together, led by the 11th, the United States.


The other four countries present signed the final declaration of the meeting in Jeddah, but some of them have very little to offer in this particular fight.


Lebanon is the least able to help, itself being torn between different political factions. Hezbollah, one of the important pillars of the Lebanese government, is itself branded by some sections of the international community as a terrorist organisation. Lebanon is a state that has been without a president for months now, with no hope of getting one in the near future.

Egypt is busy fighting terror on its own soil, and is occupied with the events in Libya on its western border, where a new phase of civil war is unfolding. The fighting there threatens to spill over into Egypt. At its southern border, Egypt has unresolved differences with Sudan. And it has Hamas in Gaza at its eastern flank. Add to all this the fact that it is facing economic and social challenges. Besides, it is official Egyptian policy not to intervene in the problems of other countries in the region. So Egypt cannot offer a lot in this new confrontation.

Iraqi bickering

Iraq has the biggest stake in fighting Isil, which is spreading terror on its soil, killing its people, and occupying its land. But the bickering amongst the political elite of the country prevents a full-scale use of military power. The collapse in June of a large section of the Iraqi army in front of the advancing Isil militants made a bad situation worse. The Kurds, who have the only reliable “boots on the ground”, want to gain the most from this situation. They have warned the new Iraqi government that if their demands regarding land and oil revenues are not met in three months, they will pull out from the new government.

Jordan, with its few resources, can only offer training and some logistical help but no more than that. Turkey pulled out of the deal altogether, with its prevailing problems with other states in the region. It also differs on the definition of terrorism itself. Europe is also a reluctant part-timer.

US President Barack Obama’s ‘New Strategy’ is too little, too late. Washington is still saying publicly that the countries of the region have to take the initiative themselves. Damascus will raise objections to the bombing of Isil targets in Syria; so will Iran and Russia, for different reasons. The Syrian regime will use the opportunity to gain global respectability and be recognised as a major player in the region’s fight against terrorism.

It’s a golden opportunity for the regime leaders to be pardoned by the international community for all the atrocities they have committed so far against the Syrian people. The Iranians are looking for ways and means to gain more benefits from the West for their nuclear programme, and to lift the sanctions. Iran has suffered for a long time. Tehran wants to be recognised as a major player.

The Russians would like to see the US in a political dilemma, in order to gain ground on the other front, namely Ukraine. So what we are witnessing is a grand “international blackmail” against the region.

GCC countries will be forced to pay the huge cost of dealing with this acute crisis. Its widely recognised by experts that unless there are “boots on the ground”, nothing can be achieved. Air strikes can achieve very little, terrorists can build tunnels to go underground and take cover in towns and villages and come out at the time of their choosing. Helping moderate forces in Iraq and Syria demands a grand strategy, involving intelligence on the ground. Iraq in particular needs this. It also has to bring on board its Sunni community. But this will require great political effort.

It looks like the GCC will be the grand player in the complicated Middle East politics in the years to come. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal said at the Jeddah meeting that his country will take all the necessary steps needed to pave the way for the declaration to be successful. This bold stance needs the support of the other GCC members to succeed. It requires a lot of thought, loads of money, and lots of resolve.

Mohammad AlRumaihi is a professor of political sociology at Kuwait University. You can follow him on Twitter at mohammad (rumaihi42) | Twitter

GCC states to be grand players in Isil fight | GulfNews.com

 

[Al Bhatti]

September 21, 2014

Kuwait beefs up security against Isil threat
A new security team comprising 80 officers from the CID and national security sector will pursue the extremist group

Kuwait has undertaken new security measures to combat the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) extremist group in the Gulf nation, media reported.

Kuwaiti Deputy PM and Interior Minister Shaikh Mohammad Al Khalid announced a new security team comprising 80 officers from the criminal investigation department and national security sector, to pursue the extremist group, Mena news agency reported citing Al Anbaan newspaper on Saturday. The security situation in Kuwait is under control, the source said.

Last week, Kuwaiti authorities arrested 11 people for supporting Isil in their battles in Syria and Iraq and contributing financially to the movement. All suspects would be prosecuted for promoting terror-related activities.

The rebels were under the scrutiny of the government security agency after it received information that Isil cells had started to make moves in response to the decision by the international community to form a global alliance against the Sunni militant group.

Isil has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. Estimates say the group could have up to 30,000 fighters. The extremist group has committed heinous crimes and threatened all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Yazidis, during its advances.

Kuwait beefs up security against Isil threat | GulfNews.com