20th January, 2016
Defence chiefs from the US, France, Britain and four other nations are meeting in Paris to examine ways to accelerate gains against Islamic State.
A report from Paris said the military chiefs would also consider potentially ramping up the number of police and army trainers.
Ash Carter, US Defence Secretary, described the gathering which started on Wednesday as a chance for face-to-face talks among the core contributors in the US led coalition, which also includes Germany, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands.
He said he would be soliciting their views and describing to them how they could accelerate the campaign, including the variety of capabilities that would be required.
The US defence secretary said they would also view the increases in the numbers of trainers in the months ahead, including the police who can help hold territory seized from Islamic State.
Carter said he would be discussing with his allies how to draw a greater contribution from the Sunni Arabs, many of whom view the US-backed, Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad with suspicion.
“That’s something I want to hear from my counterparts over the next couple of days.
How can we get them in the game? I have long said that Arabs, and Sunni Arabs, need to get in the game,” he said.
France was the first country to join U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq.
Since the Paris attacks by Islamic State militants in November, President Francois Hollande has stepped up French aerial operations against Islamic State, including i contributing about 20 per cent of coalition strikes.
A French Defence Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the coalition would discuss ways to broadly intensify the effort.
“It’s not just about adding more planes, but also trainers to accelerate the speed with which local forces can retake territory against the Islamic State.
A senior U.S. defence official acknowledged that no Arab states from the region are joining the gathering of top contributors to the campaign.
He disclosed that many Arab allies have been occupied with the Saudi Arabian-led campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen.
He said the key focus would be finding ways to increase contributions from other nations outside the “core contributors” to the coalition effort.
The French official said that while there was pressure to intensify the air effort, the US-led coalition’s ability to ramp up strikes was limited by “extremely demanding” requirements to avoid civilian casualties.
“It’s not about bombing haphazardly, but to give a military impulse to the disorganisation of ISIS’s command structure and to strip it of economic resources.