MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti), Ekaterina Blinova - It is 'overwhelmingly in the interest' of Muslim states to organize a coalition aimed at destroying Islamic State (IS), while the US and Britain should avoid sending boots on the ground, claims Boris Johnson, a British Conservative Party politician and Mayor of London.
"As soon as we had Western troops in the theatre, there would be Western captives – and more beheadings, more horror on YouTube. We could plan for Western infantry to take Raqqa, and they undoubtedly could – and it would gladden my heart if they did – but we must recognize that it would be a massive operation; and in spite of all the anger about the murders of James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and now Haines, it is not a commitment that would carry public support in either Britain or America," Boris Johnson writes in his Op-Ed "Drones can't take out all 'Jihadi Johns', we need Muslims onside" published by the Telegraph.
The Mayor of London stresses that Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states "mistakenly" consider the Islamic State an effective instrument to confront their Shia rivals in the region. Mr. Johnson urges leadership of Middle Eastern Muslim states "to put aside" all "differences" and join their efforts to contain IS – "the horror emerging in Iraq and Syria."
Boris Johnson praises the decision of David Cameron to use the British forces to "bring to justice" the murderers of David Haines, and stop the "disgusting regime" of the Islamic State. However, he emphasizes that Muslim states, not the US or the EU, should deploy their troops and fight IS on the ground.
The Daily Star Lebanon notes that although Britain has always been the first state to join the US military operations in the Middle East, this time London is not demonstrating willingness to launch a large-scale offensive against the IS in Iraq and Syria. David Cameron has not yet announced "any airstrikes, mindful of war-weary public opinion, parliament's rejection last year of airstrikes on Syria, and sensitivities surrounding Scotland's independence referendum Thursday," the media outlet stresses.
Both American and British officials suggest that the Islamic State should be contained by the coalition of Sunni Muslim forces.
"Ultimately to destroy ISIL [also known as ISIS] we do need to have a force, an anvil against which they will be pushed – ideally Sunni forces," said White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough in an interview with the CNN.
Surprisingly enough, the Western powers, which hold a meeting in Paris on Monday, September 15, dedicated to counter-terrorism actions in the Middle East, have not invited Syria and Iran – the states highly interested in destroying Islamic State – Al Arabia underscores.
"The Paris conference, officially dedicated to peace and stability in Iraq, avoids mention of Syria, the power base of the militant organization gaining territory in both countries by the week. The US opposed France's attempt to invite Iran, which shares a 1,400-kilometer border with Iraq," the media outlet reports.
Meanwhile, Damascus continues its strikes against IS. The Daily Star Lebanon notes that Syrian jet fighters have bombed the Islamic State's positions in Deir al-Zor province "killing at least 17 and possibly two dozen more militants," according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
