America Deems ISIS A Major Threat, But To Saudi Arabia And Gulf States The Priority Is Iran
WASHINGTON — Several US presidential candidates from both parties share a bullet point in their plans to fight the Islamic State group while limiting American ground troops’ involvement: Build a coalition of Sunni Arab nations to help shoulder the effort.
Unfortunately, there is a wide gap between this attractive idea and the muddy reality of Middle Eastern politics.
Candidates differ on the number of US ground troops to send, if any, and the establishment of a US-patrolled no-fly zone in Syria, or whether the US should force out President Bashar al-Assad.
But Sunni Arab involvement in the fight — a key tenet of the Obama administration’s plan — has also been voiced by Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side, and by Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul on the Republican side. (Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who quit the race Dec. 21, also voiced this view.)
WNU Editor: Divided we fall .... and we and our coalition allies are definitely divided.