What the 60-plus members of the anti-Islamic State coalition are doing
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By Sebastian Payne September 25, 2014
Obama calls for unity against 'cancer of violent extremism'
Play Video38:45
Speaking
to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama outlined steps
world leaders should take to stamp out violent extremists such as the
Islamic State militants. He also criticized Russia for its conflict with
Ukraine. (AP)
The United States-led coalition
to fight the Islamic State militant group continues to grow, with
numerous nations providing varying levels of backing in the form of
military equipment, aid and political support. It is unclear, however,
what exactly constitutes being a member of this coalition and how many
nations have signed up.
In his speech to the United Nations on
Wednesday morning, President Obama said, “Already, over 40 nations have
offered to join this coalition.”
But on Tuesday, Secretary of
State John Kerry said more than 50 nations have agreed to join the
coalition. And in a document released by the State Department on
Tuesday, 62 nations (including the European Union and the Arab League)
are listed as providing support to the U.S.-led coalition.
The
strongest allies in the coalition are those providing air support to the
United States, while others are offering delivery services and some are
providing humanitarian aid.
These are the allies listed by the
State Department as aiding the “international effort to counter ISIL,
support the people of Iraq and Syria, and mitigate the Humanitarian
consequences of the conflict in Iraq and Syria”:
Allies providing air support, and military equipment
Iraq:
Location of the fighting. Authorized France to use Iraqi air space and
has welcomed the support from Obama and other members of the coalition
in their fight against the Islamic State. The Iraqi government requested
military airstrikes from the United States to help combat the Islamic
State.
Jordan: Destroyed a number of Islamic
State targets through air strikes in Syria. Jordan has also worked to
cut off funding to extremist and terrorist organizations.
Bahrain: Carried out air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria in tandem with allies.
Saudi Arabia:
Participated in air strikes in Syria. Saudi Arabia has frequently
condemned the Islamic State and has donated $100 million to the United
Nations Counter-Terrorism Center and $500 million in humanitarian
assistance.
United Arab Emirates: Participated
in air strikes in Syria. The UAE has joined together with other Gulf
nations to condemn the Islamic State and offer support to the coalition.
France:
Bombed a warehouse occupied by the Islamic State in Iraq last week. One
of the United States’ key allies in the air, the French Air Force has
also carried out recon flights over Iraq and has vowed to take part in
future airstrikes “if needed.” To date, France has sent 59 tons of
humanitarian cargo to Irbil with further deliveries due soon. The French
have insisted the group should not be referred to as the “Islamic
State.”
French military releases Iraq air strike video
Play Video0:51
The
French military released cockpit video of Rafale jets participating in
their first air strikes in Iraq as part of the country's promise to join
military action against the Islamic State. (Reuters)
Germany:
Has sent 40 paratroopers to Iraq to provide weapons training to Kurdish
fighters. Germany is also sending 16,000 assault rifles, hundreds of
anti-tank weapons and armored vehicles. Some Kurdish fighters are also
being trained in South Germany. They will provide enough weapons to arm
4,000 Kurdish soldiers as well as 36 tons of humanitarian aid.
Germany sends arms to northern Iraq
Play Video0:33
Germany
sent on Thursday its first arms shipment to northern Iraq to help
Kurdish Peshmergas and Iraqi soldiers fight Islamic State militants who
have taken over swathes of Iraq. (Reuters)
Canada:
Has deployed “several dozen members” of the Canadian Armed Forces to
Iraq. The Canadian Air Force also provided airlift support to Albania
last week, delivering 503,000 pounds of military supplies to Iraq.
Canada has sent $15 million to support security measures in the region —
including $10 million of “non-lethal” assistance and $5 million of
humanitarian aid.
United Kingdom: Supplied arms
to the Kurds and a Royal Air Force squadron has contributed to
surveillance operations. Gifted $1.6 million of weapons and ammunition.
Prime Minister David Cameron has not ruled out contributing to U.S.-led
airstrikes in the future. Some $38 million has been committed to aid.
Australia:
Has agreed to deploy a “military force to the region” and will play a
part in U.S.-led airstrikes. Australian Special Forces are advising
Iraqi forces. Provided $5 million in humanitarian aid to Iraq as well as
aircraft, early warning systems and military stores. Prime Minister
Tony Abbott has backed Obama’s position, describing the Islamic State as
a “death cult.”
Italy: Sent $2.5 million of
weaponry, including machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and a
million rounds of ammunition, as well as humanitarian aid. Italy has no
plans at present to take part in airstrikes but has offered to aid in
the refueling of planes instead.
Czech Republic:
Provided fighter jets and 500 tons of ammunition to the Iraqi army,
delivered by the Canadian Air Force. Also contributed $1.5 million in
humanitarian aid to victims of the Syrian conflict.
Albania:
Provided weapons and ammunition to Kurdish forces, with the first
shipment sent on Sunday. Earlier this month, Albania said it would
provide up to 22 million rifle rounds, 32,000 artillery shells to
Kurdish forces as well as 10,000 automatic rifles to Afghanistan.
Netherlands:
Provided 1,000 helmets and 1,000 bulletproof vests for Kurdish forces,
as well as $10 million in humanitarian aid. The government said
Wednesday that it would send six F-16 fighter jets to strike the Islamic
State in Iraq.
Estonia: Provided a million machine gun cartridges and a Hercules transport aircraft as well as $90,000 to support displaced Iraqis.
Hungary:
Provided 7 million cartridges and “thousands” of mines and
armor-piercing shells. Hungary has sent a $90,000 aid package to
Christians in Irbil.
Turkey: President Tayyip
Erdogan has said he will “give the necessary support to the operation.
The support could be military or logistics.” Moe than 100 trucks of
humanitarian aid has been sent to Turkmen in Northern Iraq since June,
totaling $1.9 million so far. Turkey has also funded the construction of
a camp for 20,000 Iraqi Turkmen.
Belgium: The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said “we are positively inclined to
contribute” and “we have the military capacity to do so. Belgium does
have an interest to contribute.” Belgium has sent 13 tons of aid to
Iraq.
Denmark: Provided a transport aircraft to support the international efforts.
Lebanon:
The state will not send troops or weapons but will “receive military
help to fight the organization through the Army” according to its
foreign minister.
Allies providing humanitarian aid
Sweden: Donated $13 million of aid to Iraq in 2014 to date.
Kuwait: Donated $9.5 million to the United Nations for aid in Iraq.
Switzerland: Donated $9 million in aid to Iraq in 2014 so far.
Japan: Granted $6 million in emergency aid to help displaced people in Northern Iraq.
Austria: Provided $1.3 million in emergency aid to Iraq.
New Zealand: Donated $1 million in humanitarian aid.
Republic of Korea: Provided$1 million in humanitarian aid to help displaced persons in Iraq.
Ireland: Provided $300,000 to UNICEF, a further $300,000 to the Red Cross and $850,000 this year to Iraq in the form of aid.
Spain: Supported United Nations Human Rights Council resolution and donated $640,000 in humanitarian aid.
Slovakia: Donated $25,000 to assist soldiers in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Norway: Contributed to the most recent UNESCO aid drop, including 40,000 blankets, 10,000 kitchen sets and 18,000 plastic tarpaulins.
Luxembourg:
Supported United Nations Resolution 2170 and will step up humanitarian
assistance for the Iraqi people. Contributed to aid deliveries from the
United Nations.
Qatar: Passed a new law to stop
charities diverting money towards the Islamic State. Sent six aircraft
carrying 300 tons of humanitarian aid to Iraq.
Allies who have expressed support
Bulgaria:
Foreign minister has said the conflict “poses a direct threat to
Bulgaria” but has not offered any military or aid distance so far.
Egypt:
Released a statement strongly denouncing the execution of American
journalist James Foley, with a spokesman calling for the “international
community to rally efforts to fight terrorism.”
Finland: Minister for Foreign Affairs said his country will “concentrate on delivering humanitarian aid to people in desperate need”
Georgia:
In a statement, its defense minister said officials “fully support what
the United States i doing to eradicate these barbarians”.
Greece:
In a statement, the government condemned the actions of the Islamic
State and said “we express our solidarity with the Iraqi government.”
Israel:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement “these groups
must be fought, they must be rolled back, and they must ultimately be
defeated. That’s why Israel fully supports President Obama’s call for
united action against ISIS.”
Kosovo: In a
Facebook statement, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said it will help the
United States to destroy ISIS and Kosovo is part of the “emerging global
alliance to fight a great evil”.
Oman: The
Sultan of Oman has said “no one can afford to neglect a situation as
serious as this” and his government will work “as fast as possible to
end IS threat.”
Poland: Intends to politically
support the fight, as well as through NATO membership, but does not
envisage soldiers participating in military operations.
Croatia: Committed to “helping provide Kurdish forces urgently needed arms and equipment.”
Romania:
In a statement, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will
“contribute to the international community efforts to combat
international terrorism and the ISIL phenomenon.”
Singapore:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cited a “critical need for the
international community to work closely together to counter this treat.”
Taiwan:
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would “monitor
the threat to global security” and will “cooperate closely with the
international community to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of
ISIL attacks.”
Coalition supporters
The following nations have an unspecified commitment but State Department has said they are part of the coalition: Andorra, Bosnia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Tunisia and Ukraine.
Non-nation supporters
There are two other bodies that have backed the coalition but are not nation states:
Arab League:
Released several statements urging its members to confront the Islamic
State “militarily and politically.” Foreign ministers from all of the
member states have agreed to take “all necessary measures to confront
the Islamic State.”
European Union: The EU Civil
Protection Mechanism has been activated to support “rapid deployment of
in-kind assistance and expertise to Iraq.” Ten member states are
providing essential relief through a “humanitarian air bridge.” The
European Commission has increased the level of aid to $22 million in
2014.