["We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Kerry told a meeting of the 10 nations that will form the coalition. "Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground."
.... He stressed that the next stage of Nato support to Iraq – helping to train the Iraqi armed forces or to supply arms – was dependent on an effective, permanent, inclusive government in Baghdad. ... It is likely the core coalition will put together a UN resolution endorsing military and political support for the Iraqi forces trying to oust Isis. It remains unclear whether there will be any mention of Syria at this stage, an issue that is likely to cause difficulty for Russia, a permanent member of the UN security council. *So, in sum, a coalition to carry out air strikes to aid and in coordination with the local (ground) forces opposed to the ISIS, but NOT Assad; and no NATO boots on the ground. And a UN Resolution in endorsement, if possible. Also support for "moderate" opponents of Assad*.] I/II. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/world/europe/nato-summit.html?_r=0 U.S. and Allies Form Coalition With Intent to Destroy ISIS By HELENE COOPER <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/helene_cooper/index.html>SEPT. 5, 2014 NEWPORT, Wales — The Obama administration said Friday that the United States and its allies had formed a coalition to fight Sunni militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, unveiling a military and political campaign that officials said could serve as a model for combating extremist groups around the world. In a hastily organized meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit meeting here, diplomats and defense officials from the United States, Britain, France, Australia, Canada, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark conferred on what they called a two-pronged strategy: working to bolster allies on the ground in Iraq and Syria, while attacking Sunni militants from the air. They said the goal was to destroy the Islamist militant group, not to contain it. “There is no containment policy for ISIL,” Secretary of State John Kerry said at the beginning of the meeting, using an alternate acronym for ISIS. “They’re an ambitious, avowed, genocidal, territorial-grabbing, caliphate-desiring quasi state with an irregular army, and leaving them in some capacity intact anywhere would leave a cancer in place that will ultimately come back to haunt us.” But he and other officials present made clear that at the moment, any ground combat troops would come from either Iraqi security forces or Kurdish pesh merga fighters on the ground in Iraq, or from moderate Syrian rebels opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. “Obviously I think that’s a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground,” Mr. Kerry said. For President Obama, assembling a coalition to fight ISIS is critical. The president is loath to be viewed as going it alone in Iraq now that the United States has been dragged back into a combat role there. And even as Mr. Obama weighs expanding airstrikes into Syria, both he and his administration have been questioning what might happen after launching those strikes, especially as targeting ISIS in Syria would help the government of Mr. Assad, who President Obama has said must yield power. An administration official on Friday said there were concrete reasons for assembling a coalition that went beyond the political cover that such an alliance might offer the president from a war-weary American public. For one thing, the official said, certain countries bring specific expertise, like Britain and Australia in special operations, Jordan in intelligence, Turkey in border control and Saudi Arabia in financing. “Sure, the American military can handle airstrikes,” the official said, speaking on grounds of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic and military negotiations. “But it’s always nice to have help from your friends.” American officials are hoping to expand the coalition against ISIS to include as many countries as possible, particularly in the region. Obama administration officials said privately that in addition to the countries that attended the meeting Friday morning, the United States was hoping to get quiet intelligence help about the Sunni militants from Jordan, whose leader, King Abdullah, was participating in the NATO summit. United States officials said they also expected Saudi Arabia to provide money and aid for moderate Syrian rebel groups. Yousef al-Otaiba, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, said in a statement earlier this week that the United Arab Emirates stood ready to join the fight against ISIS. “No one has more at stake than the U.A.E. and other moderate countries in the region that have rejected the regressive Islamist creed and embraced a different, forward-looking path,” the ambassador said. The Emirati government, he said, is “ready to join the international community in an urgent, coordinated and sustained effort to confront a threat that will, if unchecked, have global ramifications for decades to come.” Enlisting the Sunni neighbors of Syria and Iraq is crucial, experts said, because airstrikes alone will not be enough to push back ISIS. The Obama administration is also seeking to pursue a sequential strategy that begins with gathering intelligence, and is followed by targeted airstrikes, more robust and better-coordinated support for moderate rebels, and finally, a political reconciliation process. Administration officials said that building support for moderate rebels in Syria was particularly critical. This summer, President Obama set aside $500 million to train and support vetted members of the moderate opposition to Mr. Assad of Syria; officials say they expect that Congress will approve that request to the Pentagon at the beginning of October. But even if that money is approved, American officials will still have a tough road ahead to strengthen the Free Syrian Army, the moderates of choice for the United States. “This is going to take months,” one Defense Department official said on Friday. Speaking at the beginning of the meeting on Friday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called the assembled countries the “core coalition” to battle ISIS. But, he added, “I think we’re all quite familiar with the extended challenges this represents.” II. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/05/us-core-coalition-fight-isis-militants-iraq-nato US to form 'core coalition' to fight Isis militants in Iraq US secretary of state John Kerry rules out committing 'boots on the ground' at meeting of 10 nations on sidelines of Nato summit Patrick Wintour theguardian.com, Friday 5 September 2014 12.50 BST An F/A-18C Hornet lands on the flightdeck of the US navy aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush after flying missions over Iraq. Photograph: Hasan Jamali/AP The US has announced it is forming a "core coalition" to battle Islamic State (Isis) <http://www.theguardian.com/world/isis> in Iraq <http://www.theguardian.com/world/iraq>, and has given the new bloc two weeks to finalise plans to help the Baghdad authorities and the Kurds in the north intensify the fight against the militants. Speaking at the Nato <http://www.theguardian.com/world/nato> summit in Wales, the US secretary of state, John Kerry <http://www.theguardian.com/world/john-kerry>, said on Friday that the 10-nation coalition would concentrate on shoring up those in Iraq who were fighting against Isis, but said intervention would not extend to western powers sending in troops. "We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Kerry told a meeting of the 10 nations that will form the coalition. "Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground." He said the grouping should come up with firm plans by the time the UN general assembly meets for its annual session later this month. The 10 nations are the US, Britain, France, Germany <http://www.theguardian.com/world/germany>, Canada <http://www.theguardian.com/world/canada>, Australia <http://www.theguardian.com/world/australia>, Turkey <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/turkey>, Italy <http://www.theguardian.com/world/italy>, Poland <http://www.theguardian.com/world/poland> and Denmark <http://www.theguardian.com/world/denmark>. Significantly, the group does not include any Arab nation and only one of Iraq's six neighbours. The US has launched more than 100 air strikes on Isis positions in northern Iraq in the past month to try to check the progress of the militants, who have seized a vast swath of Syria and Iraq in the past few months. But Pentagon officials have said that this military engagement will only contain the Isis advance, not defeat them, and that a broader strategy and alliance is needed. The decision was made at a joint meeting of defence and foreign office ministers chaired by Kerry and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond. British sources stressed that no request was made by the US at the meeting for the UK or Nato to carry out air strikes. But the agreement of the 10 to attend the meeting under a Nato umbrella is considered a sign that a strong military component is being planned in the campaign against Isis. "The meeting was Nato countries coming together to see, particularly on the diplomatic and political front, how we put together the best support for the countries in the region," a spokesman for David Cameron said. "It is a politically led strategy and no commitment to military action has been taken." He stressed that the next stage of Nato support to Iraq – helping to train the Iraqi armed forces or to supply arms – was dependent on an effective, permanent, inclusive government in Baghdad. The British government also emphasised that the next political stage would be the meeting of the UN general assembly, due to be attended by world leaders including Cameron. It is likely the core coalition will put together a UN resolution endorsing military and political support for the Iraqi forces trying to oust Isis. It remains unclear whether there will be any mention of Syria at this stage, an issue that is likely to cause difficulty for Russia, a permanent member of the UN security council. Cameron was due to discuss the issue with the Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, on Friday afternoon and has already made a commitment to a training mission to help Jordan. The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said her country was prepared to join in future air strikes. She said: "The countries that have expressed a willingness to tackle Isil head-on have also looked at what more can be done in terms of air strikes and Australia will respond when a formal request is made. "The red line is combat troops on the ground. There is no interest from any country present to commit combat troops," she said. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. 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