12/30/2014

Egypt,GulfAraballieseyeantimilitantallianceAPNews11/3/20146:21PM

DECEMBER 30, 2014

Egypt,GulfAraballieseye
antimilitantalliance
APNews
11/3/20146:21:03PMAPNews

CAIRO(AP)Egypt,SaudiArabia,theUnitedArabEmiratesandKuwaitarediscussingthe
creationofamilitarypacttotakeonIslamicmilitants,withthepossibilityofajointforceto
intervenearoundtheMiddleEast,TheAssociatedPresshaslearned.
Thealliancewouldalsoserveasashowofstrengthtocounterbalancetheirtraditionalrival,Shiite
dominated,Iran.Twocountriesareseenaspotentialtheatersforthealliancetoact,seniorEgyptian
militaryofficialssaid:Libya,whereIslamicmilitantshavetakenoverseveralcities,andYemen,
whereShiiterebelssuspectedoflinkstoIranhaveseizedcontrolofthecapital.
ThediscussionsreflectanewassertivenessamongtheMiddleEast'sSunnipowerhouses,whose
governmentsafterthreeyearsofpostArabSpringturmoilintheregionhaveincreasinglycome
toseeSunniIslamicmilitantsandIslamistpoliticalmovementsasathreat.
TheU.S.Araballies'considerationofajointforceillustratesadesiretogobeyondtheinternational
coalitionthattheUnitedStateshasputtogethertowageanaircampaignagainsttheIslamicState
groupinIraqandSyria.SaudiArabiaandtheUAEhaveparticipatedinthosestrikesinSyria.The
officialssaidtheallianceunderconsiderationwasnotintendedtointerveneinIraqorSyriabutto
actseparatelytoaddressotherextremisthotspots.
ThreeEgyptianmilitaryofficialsdiscusseddetailsofthetalksandafourthconfirmedtheir
comments.
AGulfofficial,whoisawareofthediscussions,alsotoldTheAssociatedPressthatthegovernments
werecoordinatingonhowtodealwithLibya,andthetalkswere"ongoingonwidercooperationon
howtodealwithextremistsintheregion."HeandtheEgyptianofficialsspokeonconditionof
anonymitybecausethetalksremainsecret.
Talksonanallianceagainstextremistsarewelladvanced,theEgyptianofficialssaid.Butthefurther
ideaofformingajointforceismoredistant,andtherearedifferencesamongthecountriesoverthe
sizeofanyforce,fundingandheadquarters,andoverwhethertoseekArabLeagueorU.N.political
coverforoperations,oneoftheEgyptianofficialssaid.PastattemptsatapanArabmilitaryforce
havefallenapart.
Still,evenifnojointforceisagreedon,thealliancewouldcoordinatemilitaryaction,aimingat
quick,pinpointoperationsagainstmilitantsratherthanlongermissions,theofficialssaid.
http://townhall.com/news/politicselections/2014/11/03/egyptgulfaraballieseyeantimilitantalliancen1913635/print

1/3

12/30/2014

Egypt,GulfAraballieseyeantimilitantallianceAPNews11/3/20146:21PM

Thecountrieshavealreadyshownanunprecedentedwillingnesstointervenetogether.Egyptand
theUAEcooperatedincarryingoutairstrikesagainstIslamicmilitantsinLibyaduringthesummer,
accordingtoU.S.andEgyptianofficials,andlastmonthEgyptcarriedoutstrikesofitsown.Egypt's
governmenthasdeniedbothoperations.
Egypt'spresident,formermilitarychiefAbdelFattahelSissi,haswarnedrepeatedlythatIslamic
extremistsmustbedealtwithinmultipleplaces,notjustinIraqandSyria.InaSeptemberinterview
withtheAP,hesaid"acomprehensivecounterterrorismstrategyintheregion"isneeded.
InWashington,askediftheU.S.wasawareofthediscussions,PentagonpresssecretaryRearAdm.
JohnKirbysaid,"We'renotprivytothat.Iwouldn'tspeaktoit."Hewouldnotelaborate.
ThespokesmanforEgypt'spresidency,AlaaYoussef,deniedthatcreatingajointrapiddeployment
force,completewithaheadquarters,waspartofthe"routine"discussionsbetweenEgyptandits
Araballiesonastrategytocombatextremism.
TheEgyptianmilitaryofficialssaidtopgeneralsfromthecountriesincludingattimes,theirchiefs
ofstaffhaveheldmultipleroundsoftalks.TwooftheEgyptianmilitaryofficialssaidtheyhad
participatedinthediscussions,whiletheothertwosaidtheyhadbeenbriefedonthem.
Underconsideration,theysaid,istheestablishmentofacoreforcemadeupofelitetroopswith
aircraftandaccesstoapoolofintelligencegatheredbymembersofthealliance.
Toprepareforsuchaforce,bilateralandmultilateralwargameshavebeenheldoverthepastyear
amongthecountriestopromoteharmonyamongtheirtroopsandweaponssystems,theEgyptian
officialssaid.EgyptandSaudiArabia,inparticular,haveelitecounterterrorismunits,andtheGulf
countrieshavesophisticatedairforces,largelypurchasedfromtheUnitedStates.
TheofficialssaidJordanandAlgeriahadalsobeenapproachedtojoin.
"Itwillonlybeannouncedwhenitisreadytogoandwehaveanagreementoneverything,"saidthe
mostsenioroftheEgyptianofficials.
Thecountriesinvolvedintendtogeta"nod"ofapprovalfromtheUnitedStates,theofficialssaid.
However,theideaofajointforcereflectsskepticismamongthecountriesthatWashingtonis
preparedtopursuemilitantsbeyondtheantiIslamicStategroupoperation,theysaid.
InLibya,Islamicmilitantshavecontrolledthecapital,Tripoli,andthesecondlargestcity,Benghazi,
forthepasttwomonths.IslamistpoliticiansinTripolihavesetuptheirowngovernmentand
revivedthepreviousparliament,wheretheyheldamajority.
Theinternationallyrecognizedandmostrecentlyelectedparliamentandgovernmenthavebeen
relegatedtothesmallcityofTobroukneartheEgyptianborder,whileitsalliedmilitiasandarmy
forcesunderGen.KhalifaHifterbattlethemilitants.ElSissiandSaudiArabiahavebackedthe
Tobroukgovernment.
InYemen,alQaidahasoneofitsmostactivebranches,fightingthegovernmentforyears.Also,
ShiiterebelsknownasHouthisoverranthecapital,Sanaa,inSeptember,threateningtheruleof
GulfbackedPresidentAbedRaboMansourHadi.SaudiArabiahasintervenedtofighttheHouthis
previously,in2010,believingthatthemovementisaproxyforIran.
ThealliancewouldalsobeonhandtoprotecttheGulffromanyincursionsbytheIslamicState
group,theofficialssaid.ItsexistencewouldalsobeasymbolicshowofunityagainstIranian
http://townhall.com/news/politicselections/2014/11/03/egyptgulfaraballieseyeantimilitantalliancen1913635/print

2/3

12/30/2014

Egypt,GulfAraballieseyeantimilitantallianceAPNews11/3/20146:21PM

influence.
EgyptandSaudiArabiainparticularhaveaclosebondunderelSissi.Asarmycommander,elSissi
overthrewEgypt'sIslamistpresident,MohammedMorsi,whowasdemocraticallyelectedafterthe
upheavaloftheArabSpringuprisings.ElSissihassincewagedaferociouscrackdownonMorsi's
MuslimBrotherhood,whichSaudiArabiaandtheUAEalsoseeastheirenemy.
SaudiArabia,theEmiratesandKuwaithaveprovidedsome$20billioninaidtoEgyptsinceel
Sissi'sousterofMorsi.
ElSissihasrepeatedlyreferredtothesecurityofhisGulfAraballiesasa"redline"andintegralto
Egypt'sownsecurity,hintinghewouldbewillingtosendtroops.Shortlybeforeheleftthemilitary
torunforpresidentthisyear,heinauguratedaneliterapiddeploymentforceandlatercryptically
saidthattheGulfregionwas"onlyashortdistanceaway"fromEgypt.
___
APwriterRobertBurnsinWashingtoncontributedtothisreport.

http://townhall.com/news/politicselections/2014/11/03/egyptgulfaraballieseyeantimilitantalliancen1913635/print

3/3