Syrian and Arab ground forces must be found to take on Islamic State, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, warning the militant group would not be defeated by air strikes alone.
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Kerry says he asked foreign ministers from the 27 other members of the alliance to do more to strike at IS’ core in Iraq and Syria and strangle its global networks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves the media as he’s arrives at the foreign ministry house before a meeting with Cyprus’ foreign minister Ionnis Kasoulides in Nicosia, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015.
“They have to be troops from those countries (who) know the culture, know the groups, know the terrain”, he told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Kerry said Iraq’s government was briefed in advance of the USA announcement.
“A number of allies are already bringing more to this battle or are planning to increase their contributions”, he said.
The call for more help comes as the United States announces the deployment of special operations forces in Iraq.
“As we further develop plans for these limited forces, we will continue to work closely with our Iraqi partners on where they will be deployed, what kind of missions they will undertake, and how they will support Iraqi efforts”, said one U.S. official. But he said an global mediation effort that now includes Assad’s backers – Russian Federation and Iran – recognizes the need to maintain the Syrian state and key services such as health and education.
Last month the Pentagon said 50 commandos were also being sent to northern Syria. “We applaud his (Mr Cameron’s) leadership”, said Mr Kerry, urging the British Parliament to approve the request.
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“As long as they’re focused on Daesh and as long they are genuine in wanting to be part of implementing the Geneva (accords), they can be an extremely constructive and important player in reaching a solution”, Kerry said after a meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation states in Brussels. There was also discussion about fully reactivating the NATO-Russia Council, which, prior to the annexation of Crimea, had been a forum for dialogue between the former Cold War adversaries.
