War on ISIS: Why Arab states aren't doing more
Updated 1715 GMT (0115 HKT) December 10, 2015
By [URL='http://edition.cnn.com/profiles/nick-thompson']Nick Thompson, CNN
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British jets have joined French warplanes over the skies of Syria. Even Germany, whose post-World War II constitution puts restrictions on fighting battles on foreign soil, is becoming increasingly involved.
But as the West steps up its war against ISIS, it appears that the involvement of the U.S.-led coalition's Arab members -- all of them much closer geographically to the terror group than their Western partners -- is drawing down.
Bombing ISIS: Arabs lag far behind West
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are down to about one mission against ISIS targets each month, a U.S. official told CNN on Monday. Bahrain stopped in the autumn, the official says, and Jordan stopped in August. CNN contacted all of these countries for comment and is yet to receive a response.
Why aren't Arab countries more involved in the fight against ISIS?
Yemen -- not ISIS -- is the priority for most Arab countries
Analysts say Yemen is at the center of a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region's biggest powers.
Yemen may have distracted many Arab states, but the threat of opposition -- not to mention revenge terror attacks -- at home has also made them fearful of greater involvement in the ISIS fight, according to analysts.
"The Arab states, including Jordan -- after the incident with the pilot [burned to death by ISIS when his plane crashed in Syria] -- are laying low," Gerges says. "ISIS doesn't just exist in Syria and Iraq -- it has major constituency supporters in almost all Arab countries, including Saudi, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan. So they want to really minimize the risks."
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/10/middleeast/isis-what-arab-states-are-doing/index.html
Updated 1715 GMT (0115 HKT) December 10, 2015
By [URL='http://edition.cnn.com/profiles/nick-thompson']Nick Thompson, CNN
[/URL]
British jets have joined French warplanes over the skies of Syria. Even Germany, whose post-World War II constitution puts restrictions on fighting battles on foreign soil, is becoming increasingly involved.
But as the West steps up its war against ISIS, it appears that the involvement of the U.S.-led coalition's Arab members -- all of them much closer geographically to the terror group than their Western partners -- is drawing down.
Bombing ISIS: Arabs lag far behind West
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are down to about one mission against ISIS targets each month, a U.S. official told CNN on Monday. Bahrain stopped in the autumn, the official says, and Jordan stopped in August. CNN contacted all of these countries for comment and is yet to receive a response.
Why aren't Arab countries more involved in the fight against ISIS?
Yemen -- not ISIS -- is the priority for most Arab countries
Analysts say Yemen is at the center of a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region's biggest powers.
Yemen may have distracted many Arab states, but the threat of opposition -- not to mention revenge terror attacks -- at home has also made them fearful of greater involvement in the ISIS fight, according to analysts.
"The Arab states, including Jordan -- after the incident with the pilot [burned to death by ISIS when his plane crashed in Syria] -- are laying low," Gerges says. "ISIS doesn't just exist in Syria and Iraq -- it has major constituency supporters in almost all Arab countries, including Saudi, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan. So they want to really minimize the risks."
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/10/middleeast/isis-what-arab-states-are-doing/index.html
