Arabs Give Tepid Support to U.S. Fight Against ISIS

[cali]

Let's be honest: this is a very weak coalition- hardly deserving of the name, and yes, of course that's problematic. I realize that those supporting this will scoff at this, but it's not not irrelevant. The U.S. is essentially going it alone.



Many Arab governments grumbled quietly in 2011 as the United States left Iraq, fearful it might fall deeper into chaos or Iranian influence. Now, the United States is back and getting a less than enthusiastic welcome, with leading allies like Egypt, Jordan and Turkey all finding ways on Thursday to avoid specific commitments to President Obama’s expanded military campaign against Sunni extremists.

As the prospect of the first American strikes inside Syria crackled through the region, the mixed reactions underscored the challenges of a new military intervention in the Middle East, where 13 years of chaos, from Sept. 11 through the Arab Spring revolts, have deepened political and sectarian divisions and increased mistrust of the United States on all sides.


“As a student of terrorism for the last 30 years, I am afraid of that formula of ‘supporting the American effort,’ ” said Diaa Rashwan, a scholar at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, a government-funded policy organization in Cairo. “It is very dangerous.”

The tepid support could further complicate the already complex task Mr. Obama has laid out for himself in fighting the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: He must try to confront the group without aiding Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, or appearing to side with Mr. Assad’s Shiite allies, Iran and the militant group Hezbollah, against discontented Sunnis across the Arab world.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/world/middleeast/arabs-give-tepid-support-to-us-fight-against-isis.html

[sendero]

1. Fine.

... I was for the bombing campaigns but I'm losing my enthusiasm. If they don't care, why should we? Maybe we should just get the hell out of the ME.

[KG]

2. how could the arab world NOT love and trust obama?

[Vinca]

3. If the countries that could be seriously harmed by ISIS don't care, why should we?

It's not like we have billions of dollars to dump down the old black hole and unless John McCain and Lindsey Graham agree to suit up, no Americans should defend the Arab countries choosing to sit on the sidelines.

[cali]

4. kick. How do we succeed with allies like this?

[CJCRANE]

5. This is the Iraqis' fight.

It's their land and their culture on the line.

It's hypocritical of them but I expect the other arab and muslim nations don't want any blowback.

[morningfog]

6. Has any country in our "broad coalition" indicated it will

participate through direct military action in Iraq? I know that all, so far, have made clear they will not join in Syria strikes.

It really is looking like it will be a US military action, with arms and training support from others. And the ground war will be the stellar Iraqi army (with imbedded US soldiers) and the reliable FSA in Syria. What a farce.

[cali]

7. No. The U.S. hopes that the Iraqi armed forces, the Peshmerga and

various "moderate" groups in Syria will be able to handle it- despite strong evidence to the contrary.

[newfie11]

8. If we had left Iraq alone and Saddam Hussein was still in charge

Would Isis even be around?

[cali]

9. No.

It's blowback.

[fadedrose]

10. The tepid support is one of the reasons...

that the President should not go into this war without congressional support. It is the responsibility of the Congress to share in any decision making, even tho the President has some rights that say he can enter into war himself.... Rights don't make it right....

That's why we elect these people, but when it's a tough decision like war and immigration, they turn their backs as though they can't be bothered and spend time naming buildings...

HC is saying he should be more aggressive, but the Congress is the party that should be more aggressive....bunch of chickens..

I posted just a few posts asking people to email their reps to get a bill introduced concerning ISIS. Wish you would ask too, you are far more persuasive I want to protect the President and the country from making serious mistakes, and you may not like his overstepping his authority (?). Either way, we need Congress..

So little time left.......

[bullwinkle428]

11. Charlie Pierce is spot-on - the wealthy Arabs of the Gulf region see the

U.S. military as nothing more than their own personal "mall cops".

[dmosh42]

12. As of now, I can support 'humanitarian efforts' inside Iraq. I think this uprising is the Sunni....

return as was predicted when we removed Saddam. Yeah, there doesn't seem to be big excitement in the surrounding Arab states, so we know who will be doing the heavy lifting, if we follow through with our effort to destroy ISIL. If Congress has to show a vote, the support won't be there, except the usual McCain/Graham 'friends of the pentagon'. More of the usual bullshit, I'm afraid.