The Arab League called for the creation of a regional force to combat militants as countries face a growing threat from Islamic State and other groups.
The ultra-radical group has taken over swathes of Iraq and Syria and splinter groups in other countries like Egypt and Libya have pledged allegiance to it. Yemen’s al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is also very active.
The United States leads a coalition that is fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Washington says Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain have participated in or supported air strikes in Syria. Iran is also playing a major role in fighting Islamic State in Iraq.
Egypt, the most populous Arab state, struck Islamic State targets in Libya last month after the militants beheaded 21 Egyptians.
But there has been no comprehensive Arab force to fight militants. Previous calls for a unified force have failed to produce results.
Speaking at the opening session of an Arab League meeting of foreign ministers, Secretary General Nabil el-Araby called for action.
“What is required now and urgently is to look into creating a…multi-national force that is able to look at what unites them in terms of responsibilities in the areas of quick intervention to fight terrorism, the activities of terrorist groups, helping in peacekeeping operations and securing humanitarian operations,” he said.
It was not immediately clear which countries would join such a force or where or when it would be created.
The Arab League is due to hold a summit of Arab leaders later this month in Sharm el-Sheikh.
We are over 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, and have more than fifty states – with very many of them in the Middle East and North Africa and connected, by land and some of them endowed with plentiful oil resources. In these circumstances, it must be a matter of shame for all of us that when it came to fighting the murderous thugs Daish (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) who have raised their ugly head, the coalition of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain is led by the United States. It is the same country which, along with Britain, invaded Iraq on fabricated grounds and removed Saddam Hussain who had dealt with destructive forces with firmness and had provided the vast majority of Iraqi population with a fair degree of peace and prosperity. So the country, which holds primary responsibility for destabilizing Iraq and creating circumstances for the emergence of thugs and murderers like IS is again being carried by Muslim countries on their shoulders as their saviour, leading their struggle against IS terrorists. Can there be a more cruel joke than this?
The most populous country in the region, Egypt, also took action against IS but this was limited to their retaliatory air attacks against IS terrorists in Libya to avenge the killing of 21 Egyptian Christians.
In these circumstances, the Arab League's call for the creation of a regional force to combat militants as countries face a growing threat from Islamic State and other groups is most appropriate indeed. Surely, Muslim countries in the region have ample resources to handle jokers like IS and do not have to depend on countries like the US which have agendas of their own and whose interests may not coincide with those of our, as the past experience clearly indicates.
The region is vast enough and has plentiful resources for all of them to live in peace and prosperity, instead of getting at each other's throat, and thereby creating problems for them all, and then inviting countries like United States to lead them in solving the problem which is the very creation of US.
As such, the the Arab League is doing the right thing calling on its members to form a regional force to combat growing threat from Islamic State and similar terrorists which are destabilizing the whole region. However, in order to make it a really effective force, the countries in the region have to rise over the petty rivalries, especially the most damaging Sunni-Shia divide, which threatens their unity and prevents their development as a powerful block of nations, much like the European Union.
As for the current campaign against Islamic State, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain which are presently involved in the campaign, Egypt should also be asked to participate in a meaningful way. Surely, Egypt has the largest armed forces in the region, and with a peace treaty with Israel, does not face any real threat and can spare a rather large contingent, provided the rich states meet the extra expenses involved. This could also provide an opportunity to Egypt to return the favour that the countries in the region have done to it by granting it a large aid package.
Meanwhile, the countries in the region should try to get over petty rivalries and start thinking seriously about eliminating this destructive Sunni-Shia rivalry, which acts as the biggest hindrance to their unity,development and security.
Karachi
I agree all Arab nations should band together and go after ISIS and the rest of the terror organizations
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