"The United States welcomes the announcement today from President Hollande that France will conduct airstrikes in Iraq. This is a significant contribution to the efforts of the growing international coalition to combat ISIL. And we look forward to coordinating closely with our French partners in the days to come," Earnest said.
According to the press secretary, the United States and France will closely coordinate their efforts. The French president said France was ready to conduct airstrikes, but would not send ground troops to the region.
Earlier, the United States already conducted a series of airstrikes to hamper the advance of IS militants. US President Barack Obama has also announced his strategy for defeating the extremists, which includes the creation of a broad international anti-IS coalition.
The IS, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), is a Sunni jihadi group that has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, it launched an offensive in Iraq, seizing vast areas in both countries and announcing the establishment of an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140918/193068751/White-House-Welcomes-Frances-Airstrikes-Against-IS-Says-Contribution-Significant.html
18/9/14
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- France to fight ISIL in Iraq not Syria...
French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that France will only carry out military action against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant militants in Iraq, but not in Syria.
Speaking at his fourth-biannual press conference since he came to power, Hollande said that France has started providing military air support to Iraq in response to Iraqi authorities’ request. However, he denied any intention to deploy military ground forces.
" France is to respond positively to the Iraqi authorities by carrying out air strikes against the militants there. We will not go beyond that. There will not be ground troops and we will only intervene inIraq."
When asked about the possibility of fighting ISIL in Syria, Hollande ruled out any intervention.
During the press conference, Hollande used the Arabic acronym for ISIL, DAESH, following France's head of diplomacy Laurent Fabius request to journalists and media organizations to do the same last Monday.
“This is a terrorist group and not a state. I do not recommend using the term Islamic State because it blurs the lines between Islam, Muslims and Islamists. The Arabs call it "Daesh" and I will be calling them the "Daesh butchers.""
On Monday, Paris hosted an international conference on peace and security in Iraq where the leaders and officials from 29 countries met in Paris to agree to provide Baghdad with military aid to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in Iraq.
The participants were "committed to supporting the new Iraqi government in its fight against ISIL by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance" the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that tackling ISIL was "a matter of urgency."
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/391474--france-to-fight-isil-in-iraq-not-syria-french-pres
18/9/14
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Related:
US lawmakers back plan to arm Syrian rebels. (House of Representatives vote 273 to 156 to approve President Obama's train-and-equip plan)
Islamic State wins new recruits in Syria after Obama speech (Monitor)
Terror from Middle East, Africa on way to Europe (Egypt president)
Anna Fotyga: "We have an asymmetric war against western society coming from all directions" (EP)
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Statement By the President on Congressional Authorization to Train Syrian Opposition(The White House, Office of the Press Secretary)....
ReplyDeleteTHE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Today, the United States continues to build a broad international coalition to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL. As part of the air campaign, France will join in strikes against ISIL targets in Iraq. And as one of our oldest and closest allies, France is a strong partner in our efforts against terrorism, and we’re pleased that French and American servicemembers will once again work together on behalf of our shared security and our shared values.
More broadly, more than 40 countries -- including Arab nations -- have now offered assistance as part of this coalition. This includes support for Iraqi forces, strengthening the Iraqi government, providing humanitarian aid to Iraqi civilians, and doing their part in the fight against ISIL.
Here at home, I’m pleased that Congress -- a majority of Democrats and a majority of Republicans, in both the House and the Senate -- have now voted to support a key element of our strategy: our plan to train and equip the opposition in Syria so they can help push back these terrorists. As I said last week, I believe that we’re strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. And I want to thank leaders in Congress for the speed and seriousness with which they approached this urgent issue -- in keeping with the bipartisanship that is the hallmark of American foreign policy at its best.
These Syrian opposition forces are fighting both the brutality of ISIL terrorists and the tyranny of the Assad regime. We had already ramped up our assistance, including military assistance, to the Syrian opposition. With this new effort, we’ll provide training and equipment to help them grow stronger and take on ISIL terrorists inside Syria. This program will be hosted outside of Syria, in partnership with Arab countries, and it will be matched by our increasing support for Iraqi government and Kurdish forces in Iraq...............http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/18/statement-president-congressional-authorization-train-syrian-opposition
18/9/14