Saudi Arabia are fronting a massive Islamic coalition with a view to defeating ISIS. 34 separate countries have joined together with one stated aim; destroy the so called Islamic State.
In a statement the Saudis announced:
“The countries here mentioned have decided on the formation of a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, with a joint operations centre based in Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations.”
The list of countries includes nations with considerable military capabilities:
Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, together with Islamic countries Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states.
Combined these countries have more than enough to overpower the terrorist group. The announcement cited “a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organisations whatever their sect and name which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorise the innocent”.
The United States have been pushing for the Arab states to become more involved in the conflict. President Obama will view this as a victory for diplomacy in the region. It lessens the chances of needing to put U.S forces on the ground, which some republicans have been pushing for.
As of yet there are few details of how the coalition will operate. In a rare press conference Defence Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, said:
“There will be international coordination with major powers and international organisations … in terms of operations in Syria and Iraq.
“We can’t undertake these operations without coordinating with legitimacy in this place and the international community,” bin Salman said.
Salman was asked whether the coalition would only focus on ISIS and he replied that they would destroy “any terrorist organisation that appears in front of us.”
ISIS has pledged to bring down the monarchies that control the Gulf and have recently mounted attacks on Shi’ite Muslim mosques in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
With the combination of Western air strikes and this coalitions ground troops there is a real chance that ISIS could be overcome.
