News / Military

Pentagon chief in Europe drumming up support against Daesh

Wednesday, 10 February 2016 3:10 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 10 February 2016 3:09 AM ]

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has called on the key members of the US-led coalition to expand their roles in the fight against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

On Tuesday, Carter arrived in Brussels prior to an anti-ISIL meeting scheduled on February 11 to convince the 27 key coalition members to increase their contribution in the fight against the Takfiris.

"I don't think anybody is satisfied with the pace (of the campaign), that is why we are all looking to accelerate it," Carter told reporters as he flew to Brussels. "My instructions are very clear from my president. He wants to get this done."

Being at the helm at United States Department of Defense for a year, Carter chastised some members of the so-called coalition last month for doing "nothing at all," while America carries out most of the military campaign.

Saudi Arabia and some other Persian Gulf countries have been among the major contributors to the so-called war on Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

"I really hope they make a strong contribution because I think they have a strong stake in making sure that extremism doesn't run rampant over their own region," Carter said. "We will defeat ISIL and it will be good for their futures for them to be on the winning side."

Carter and US President Barack Obama are facing with growing criticism at home over the campaign amid calls for intervention in Libya, where ISIL terrorists have doubled in number to about 5,000 in recent weeks.

The United States claims it has carried out the bulk of nearly 9,800 airstrikes launched against purported Daesh positions in Iraq and Syria since the summer of 2014.

Since September 2014, the 65-member coalition has been conducting air raids inside Syria with no authorization from the government or the UN as well as in Iraq since June 2014.

The Daesh Takfiris, who are wreaking havoc in Syria Iraq and miles further in Libya, were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government.

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