New Islamic Alliance Announced By Saudi Arabia

A new Islamic alliance was established recently under the leadership of Saudi Arabia to deal with militants like al Qaeda and the Islamic State, according to Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia.

The 34-nation alliance will share information as well as train and equip forces to fight the militants. The United States welcomed the creation of the coalition. The United States has encouraged more regional involvement in the fight against the Islamic State.

The Islamic State said earlier that it will overthrow the Gulf monarchies and has started to attack security forces and Shi'ite Muslim mosques in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The foreign minister said everything is on the table when he was asked whether the alliance will not allow putting troops in the ground.

Jubeir revealed in a news briefing that the requests will determine what the new Islamic alliance will do as well as the willingness of different countries in offering necessary support. The joint operations center of the alliance will be based in Riyadh. It combines intelligence, military and security with ideology. The details about the alliance will not be revealed until after a few weeks.

Aside from Saudi Arabia, the other countries included in the coalition are the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia and a number of countries in Africa. Iran is not a part of the coalition. Saudi Arabia and Iran are on opposite sides in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.

Jubeir said the goal of the new Islamic alliance is to unite these countries and recognize the problem as well as take any necessary actions.

New Islamic Alliance Announced By Saudi Arabia - image credit: bostonglobe.com

However, the new Islamic alliance will not have its own stand-alone army. Jubeir said assistance will be provided by countries with the ability to provide assistance. While each request for assistance will be on a case by case basis, there are no limitations.

Jubeir said neighbors of countries with power vacuums can request for assistance whenever necessary, as shown on what happened in Libya where political rivalries benefitted the Islamic State. Saudi Arabia previously indicated that it had the duty to safeguard the Islamic country from all terrorist organizations and groups that inflict death and destruction to terrorize the innocent.

The announcement was welcomed by Defense Secretary Ash Carter of the United States after he arrived at the Incirlik airbase in Turkey. Carter was in Turkey for a regional tour aimed at encouraging support for the military campaign against the Islamic State. Carter said the new Islamic alliance is consistent with its call to Sunni Arab countries for increased involvement in the campaign to deal with the Islamic State.

Saudi Defense Minister and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said the new alliance is designed to “coordinate” efforts in the fight against terrorism in Egypt, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria and Iraq.

Major powers and international organizations will coordinate with each other in operations within Iraq and Syria since Saudi Arabia cannot conduct operations without coordinating to ensure its legitimacy, said bin Salman.

The crown prince provided some indications on the way the military efforts of the new Islamic alliance may proceed.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday December 16 2015, 12:47 PM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0