Jordan calls for reversing conditions that generated IS

PARIS – Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Monday called for boosting cooperation to support Iraq in confronting prevailing challenges, especially the spreading radical ideologies, terrorist groups and the Islamic State’s (IS) seizure of swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.   

In his remarks at a conference held in Paris Monday to discuss the situation in Iraq, Judeh said the first step for any effort to deal with these challenges lies in reversing the conditions which have led to this deterioration, noting that the formation of a new government in Iraq is a major step in this direction, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Judeh stressed the importance of forging ahead with reforms needed to boost the role of Iraq as a collective entity with all its components through a political process that enhances the rule of law, strengthens the country and curbs the dangers of IS.

Cautioning that IS’ threat endangers the stability and the security of the entire region, the foreign minister cited His Majesty King Abdullah’s remarks at the recently held NATO summit that there are factors that should be taken into consideration when planning any effective effort to counter the threat. These are: urgency of the issue, the need to take action to curb the existing threat before it develops further and the possibility that the threat may extend beyond Iraq. 

He reiterated that the terror group’s crimes against humanity and against the region’s communities and history are a grave threat for pan-Arab security, let alone that such practices tarnish the true image of Islam and its values.    

The world’s top diplomats pledged Monday to support Iraq in its fight against IS militants by “any means necessary”, including “appropriate military assistance”, as leaders stressed the urgency of the crisis, Agence France-Presse reported. 

Representatives from around 30 countries and international organisations, including the United States, Russia and China, gathered in Paris as the savage beheading over the weekend of a third Western hostage raised the stakes in the fight against the marauding jihadists.

In a joint statement after the talks, diplomats vowed to support Baghdad “by any means necessary, including appropriate military assistance, in line with the needs expressed by the Iraqi authorities, in accordance with international law and without jeopardising civilian security”.

They stressed that IS extremists were “a threat not only to Iraq but also to the entire international community” and underscored the “urgent need” to remove them from Iraq, where they control some 40 per cent of the territory.

However, the final statement made no mention of Syria, where extremists hold a quarter of the country and where Bashar Assad’s regime still had friends around the Paris conference table, including Russia.

Opening the conference, French President Francois Hollande said there was “no time to lose” in the fight against the jihadists.

“The fight of the Iraqis against terrorism is our fight as well,” Hollande said, urging “clear, loyal and strong” global support for Baghdad.

Co-hosting the meeting, Iraqi President Fouad Massoum also underlined the urgency of the crisis, warning that the militants could overrun more countries in the region. 

“We are still asking for regular aerial operations against terrorist sites. We have to pursue them wherever they are. We need to dry up their sources of finance,” the Iraqi leader added.

The international community is scrambling to contain the IS jihadists — who have rampaged across Iraq and Syria and could number as many as 31,500 fighters, according to the CIA.

As if to stress the urgency of the campaign, France’s defence minister announced just hours ahead of the conference that Paris was joining Britain in carrying out reconnaissance flights in support of the US air campaign against the jihadists.

And in Brussels, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for military action, calling IS “a group of terrorists with whom there is no chance whatsoever to negotiate”.