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03/28/2024 05:31:38 am

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Anti-ISIL Coalition: International Support Grows, But Who Is Doing What?

ISIS airstrikes

(Photo : Reuters/Saul Loeb/Pool) U.S. President Barack Obama authorized expanded airstrikes against ISIL targets during his live televised speech on September 10, 2014.

In his speech last week, U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States military power is unmatched, but the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) cannot be waged alone.

Paris will host an international conference today to discuss the specific roles each of the anti-ISIL coalition members will have in the U.S.-led alliance against the terror group.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has enlisted some 40 countries to build support for the anti-ISIL campaign, but it remains unclear how these countries would contribute to the global strategy against the Islamic State, reported CNN.

International and regional allies, Obama said, would provide military and material support to the "war" against the Islamic State terror group, who has released strong warnings against the United States allies on Saturday in the beheading video of British humanitarian worker David Haines.

In his interview with CBS yesterday, Kerry confirmed the Middle East's willingness to help in the air combat but refused to discuss the specifics of other nations' participation in the ISIL fight.

With the release of the Haines beheading video over the weekend, British Prime Minister David Cameron, along with the rest of the European Union, announced their strengthened resolve to beat back the Islamic terrorist group, emphasizing five deliberate strategies that will ultimately destroy ISIL.

The strategies include extension of humanitarian aid to communities ravaged by ISIL militants, coordination with Iraqi and Kurd governments in protecting the minorities in the region, and stepping up counter-terrorism efforts in Britain. 

Kerry has ended his weeklong trip across the Middle East to enlist regional partners in the ISIL fight on Sunday.

U.S. officials said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia has offered its military bases for launching air strikes against the ISIL targets in addition to training moderate Syrian rebels.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, a Saudi foreign minister, told reporters in a joint conference with Kerry in Jeddah that there is no limit to the Kingdom's support in the anti-ISIL campaign. Nine other Arab leaders met with Kerry and made broad assurances for the global ISIL fight.

A senior state department official announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia contributed US$500 million to Iraq-based U.N. humanitarian agencies, CNN reported.

On Saturday, Kerry held talks with Egyptian leaders whose main contribution would be to moderate extremist ideologies in the region. The U.S. has also urged Qatar and Saudi Arabia media to spread anti-ISIS message.

Although Turkey refused to sign the joint communique with the Arab leaders, it has reportedly intensified its efforts in barring entrance of foreign fighters seeking to join the extremist in Syria and Iraq.

The only country that has made commitments to the air campaign is Australia. On Sunday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that he will send warplanes and 600 soldiers in preparation for the expanded anti-ISIL offensive.

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