This Sunday, the Associated Press reported that leaders of the Arab League have officially announced that they will now begin to “militarily and politically” confront the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as well as continuing to cooperate with other nations that are working to deter the efforts of the terrorist group.
Nabil Elarabi, the secretary-general of the Arab League told The Associated Press, "What is happening in Iraq, and the presence of an armed terrorist group that not only challenges the state authority but its very existence and that of other countries … is one of the examples of the challenges that are violently shaking the world."
The Arab League is an international organization of nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt Qatar, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A representative from the Arab League who was present at a United Nations Security Council meeting endorsed a resolution that was passed in August. The resolution urged all member states to "act to suppress the flow of foreign fighters, financing and other support to Islamist extremist groups in Iraq and Syria." However, the League did not directly endorse U.S. or Iraqi efforts to deter the Islamic State.
Meanwhile, U.S. State Secretary is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and Jordan later this week. In addition, President Barrack Obama talked about some plans to further neutralize ISIS this Sunday at NBC’s “Meet the Press”. He announced that key NATO nations are working to create a joint task force to engage ISIS. The president stated that the NATO allies are ready to "degrade and ultimately destroy" ISIS.
He added that "Key NATO allies stand ready to confront this terrorist threat through military, intelligence and law enforcement as well as diplomatic efforts. Our goal is to act with urgency but also make sure that we're doing it right, that we have the right targets, that there's support on the ground … that we have a strong political coalition."
American airstrikes have managed to destroy a great deal of ISIS’ heavy weaponry and personnel carriers. However, ISIS still controls a considerable amount of territory in Iraq and Syria.
After the deaths of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, the Obama administration announced that America will do all it can to deter ISIS. Although it is unclear whether American ground forces will enter the Middle East, it is evident that the U.S. as well as the Western World is moving to combat the militants in more direct and effective ways.
