Although he declined to comment on any specific commitments made by nations participating in the administration’s “broad coalition” to fight the Islamic State, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest did say today that it is “coming together very nicely.”
At Monday’s White House press briefing, Earnest said the US is still compiling a checklist of exactly what the coalition will need from member countries.
When that is completed, he said, those countries will make their own announcements about what they’re willing to do to fight the Islamist militant group.“We want to make sure we have all the boxes checked in terms of what our needs are. … We want to make sure their commitment matches what is actually needed, and we’re not duplicating efforts,” Mr. Earnest said. “Based on the very strong statements we’re seeing from public officials representing these other governments, there is a clear indication this coalition is coming together very nicely.”
In a scathing report, last week, the New York Times revealed that support from Arab nations thus far has been “tepid” and “getting less than an enthusiastic welcome with leading allies like Egypt, Turkey, all finding ways to avoid specific commitments.”
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