Armed Services Dem: Coalition ‘a tiny step’

The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday the U.S. “has a long way to go” to build a successful, lasting coalition of Arab countries to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

While it’s “certainly encouraging” that countries like Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “have been supportive of what we have done, we have built an Arab coalition for the bombing — that’s a tiny step forward,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in an interview with CNN.

{mosads}Smith said that the U.S. needs Sunni tribes inside Iraq to support the newly created government in Baghdad in order to stem support for the terror group.

“That’s not yet happening,” according to Smith, who added that “the jury is still out” on new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and his ability to form an inclusive government.

“We will not be successful unless the Sunni tribes turn on ISIS,” he said. “They won’t do that if they don’t think Iraq is going to include them.”

His comments were delivered mere hours after President Obama endorsed al-Abadi during a bilateral meeting between the two leaders in New York. The president called al-Abadi the “right person” to ease the sectarian strife caused by the terror group’s march across Iraq.

The meeting followed the president’s address to the United Nations General Assembly in hopes of rallying global support for the fight against ISIS. He urged Muslim countries to reject the “cancer” of terrorism.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) on Wednesday called the contributions to airstrikes against ISIS by Arab states “historic.”

Smith said the U.S. faces a “very similar challenge” in Syria, as the administration searches for moderate elements within the Free Syrian Army to train and equip to battle the terrorist organization.

He said Syrian President Bashar Assad was “being clever” by focusing his government’s attacks on moderate rebels, avoiding ISIS targets “precisely because he knows that the real threat to his regime is if that moderate element emerges” to work with the U.S.

“We have a long way to go to build a successful coalition,” according to Smith. “But this is where it has to start. There’s just more work to be done.”

Smith also repeated his calls for congressional approval on the authorization on the use of military force, saying lawmakers “don’t need the president to ask us” in order to hold a vote.

“There’s no reason that the legislative branch can’t stand up for itself and act. The president has to do what he needs to do to protect us. He can’t ask Congress and have Congress do nothing and delay necessary action,” Smith said.