World won’t permit Islamic State romp, says John Kerry
11 Sep 2014 12:10 AM GMT
‘This is a fight the Iraqi people must win, but it’s also a fight the rest of the world needs them to win. It’s a fight the United States and the rest of the world needs to support every step of the way,’ Kerry told reporters.
Kerry was in Baghdad to meet with Iraq’s new leaders and pledge US support for eliminating the extremist group and the threat it poses. He said president Barack Obama would later outline in specific detail what steps the US is prepared to take to defeat the Islamic State, which has overrun parts of northern Iraq and Syria.
Kerry did not reveal Obama’s plans. But he predicted a coalition of at least 40 nations ultimately will eliminate the Islamic State and said Obama will ‘lay out with great specificity a broad strategy’ to
deal with the Islamic State group.
With a new Iraqi government finally in place and a growing Mideast consensus on defeating insurgent threats, Kerry pressed Iraq’s Shiite leader to quickly deliver more power to wary Sunnis — or jeopardize any hope of defeating the Islamic State group. At his news conference after the talks here, Kerry declared now that there is a new, inclusive government in Baghdad, ‘it’s full speed ahead’. Kerry also said the US is pledging another $48 million to UN agencies and other humanitarian aid organizations to help ease suffering of 1.8 million people who have been displaced by the Islamic State.
‘The United States and the world will simply not stand by and watch as ISIL’s evil spreads,’ he said. ‘We all know, I think we come to this with great confidence that ultimately our global coalition will succeed in eliminating the threat from Iraq, from the region and the world.’ Kerry landed in the Iraqi capital just two days after newly sworn Prime minister Haider al-Abadi seated his top government ministers, a crucial step toward restoring stability in a nation where security has spiralled out of control since the beginning of the year. As Kerry and al-Abadi were meeting, two car bombs exploded simultaneously in the southeastern neighbourhood of New Baghdad, killing 13 people.
The trip marks the first high-level US meeting with al-Abadi since he become prime minister, and it aimed to symbolize the Obama administration’s support for Iraq nearly three years after US troops left the war-torn country.
Kerry was in Baghdad to meet with Iraq’s new leaders and pledge US support for eliminating the extremist group and the threat it poses. He said president Barack Obama would later outline in specific detail what steps the US is prepared to take to defeat the Islamic State, which has overrun parts of northern Iraq and Syria.
Kerry did not reveal Obama’s plans. But he predicted a coalition of at least 40 nations ultimately will eliminate the Islamic State and said Obama will ‘lay out with great specificity a broad strategy’ to
deal with the Islamic State group.
With a new Iraqi government finally in place and a growing Mideast consensus on defeating insurgent threats, Kerry pressed Iraq’s Shiite leader to quickly deliver more power to wary Sunnis — or jeopardize any hope of defeating the Islamic State group. At his news conference after the talks here, Kerry declared now that there is a new, inclusive government in Baghdad, ‘it’s full speed ahead’. Kerry also said the US is pledging another $48 million to UN agencies and other humanitarian aid organizations to help ease suffering of 1.8 million people who have been displaced by the Islamic State.
‘The United States and the world will simply not stand by and watch as ISIL’s evil spreads,’ he said. ‘We all know, I think we come to this with great confidence that ultimately our global coalition will succeed in eliminating the threat from Iraq, from the region and the world.’ Kerry landed in the Iraqi capital just two days after newly sworn Prime minister Haider al-Abadi seated his top government ministers, a crucial step toward restoring stability in a nation where security has spiralled out of control since the beginning of the year. As Kerry and al-Abadi were meeting, two car bombs exploded simultaneously in the southeastern neighbourhood of New Baghdad, killing 13 people.
The trip marks the first high-level US meeting with al-Abadi since he become prime minister, and it aimed to symbolize the Obama administration’s support for Iraq nearly three years after US troops left the war-torn country.
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