A number of Arab nations are offering to launch airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, American officials say.
“I can tell you, right here and now, that we have countries in this region, countries outside of this region, in addition to the United States, all of whom are prepared to engage in military assistance, in actual strikes, if that is what it requires,” Secretary of State John Kerry said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“People should not think about this … just in terms of strikes,” Kerry said, speaking to host Bob Schieffer from Egypt, where he is meeting with world leaders about the Islamic State. “In fact, as some have pointed out, that alone is not going to resolve this challenge.”
While the U.S. is not seeing to put American boots on the ground, “there are some [countries] who have offered to” put boots on the ground, Kerry said. But he said it was not appropriate yet to identify which countries have offered to take those steps, the secretary said.
Airstrikes aren’t the only way Arab countries could help the coalition, the New York Times reported Sunday, naming other possible forms of support could include “flying arms to Baghdad or Erbil in the Kurdistan region, conducting reconnaissance flights or providing logistical support and refueling.”
