United States calls for unity to ‘destroy’ IS
US President Barack Obama and Britain’s PM David Cameron (right) attend a meeting on the second day of the Nato 2014 Summit at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales, on Friday. Nato leaders are expected to announce fresh sanctions against Russia. PHOTO | AFP |
What you need to know:
- The statement said the formation of a new Iraqi government would be critical and added the US was hopeful this could happen “over the coming days”.
- In a transcript released by US officials of Kerry’s comments at the meeting, the diplomat said: “We must be able to have a plan together by the time we come to UNGA (UN General Assembly)” later this month.”
The United States on Friday called for the creation of a broad international coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria by the time of the UN General Assembly this month.
“There is no time to waste in building a broad international coalition to degrade and, ultimately, to destroy the threat posed by ISIL,” Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a joint statement.
Britain and the United States chaired talks with defence and foreign ministers from eight other allies: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Turkey.
The statement said the formation of a new Iraqi government would be critical and added the US was hopeful this could happen “over the coming days”.
“We discussed in detail how Nato allies can extend immediate support to a new government,” the statement said.
It listed some of the measures as offering military support to the Iraqi government; stopping the flow of foreign jihadist fighters; taking action against IS funding; addressing the humanitarian crisis; and “de-legitimising” IS ideology.
“We will form a multinational task force to share more information about the flow of foreign fighters,” it said, after an extremist speaking with a British accent was shown beheading two US kidnapped journalists and threatening a British hostage.
In a transcript released by US officials of Kerry’s comments at the meeting, the diplomat said: “We must be able to have a plan together by the time we come to UNGA (UN General Assembly)” later this month.”
“They’re not as organised as everybody thinks,” he said, referring to IS. “And we have the technology, we have the know-how. What we need is obviously the willpower to make certain that we are steady and stay at this.”
“We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, that bolster the Iraqi security forces, others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own,” he said.
Meanwhile British Prime Minister David Cameron urged Nato allies not to pay ransoms for kidnapped nationals.
IS militants in Iraq and Syria are currently holding a British man hostage and threatened to kill him in a video this week which showed a US journalist being killed.
