Top US officials used public statements and Sunday’s talk shows to press Arab States for support in the military campaign in Iraq against the Islamic State.
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey (pictured), emphasized the need for a “more credible [operation] — that is to say, this is not just about the United States….This is a regional and even an international issue.”
Speaking after a NATO meeting in Croatia, Dempsey said, ““We want [the Islamic State] to wake up every day realizing that they are being squeezed from multiple directions. If we can get them looking in about five different directions, that’s the desired end state.”
The US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, reinforced the point in a series of talk show appearances, saying President Obama would not expand the aerial campaign against the Islamic State unless other countries joined the effort.
We will not do the airstrikes alone, if the President decides to do the airstrikes. It will be up to each country to announce for itself whether it’s prepared to participate.
Last week France became the first country to carry out an airstrike since US operations began on August 8.
