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Barack Obama is pinning his hopes on a re-invigorated Iraqi army and moderate Syrian rebels to help defeat militants who are menacing northern Iraq and Syria, as part of a new, detailed strategy to step up American military intervention to confront the movement.
In a much-awaited speech on Wednesday night that may prove the biggest test of Obama's multilateral approach to foreign policy, the president was poised to emphasise a mix of US military action, hitherto confined to airstrikes in Iraq, coupled with support for the forces ranged against Islamic State (Isis) on the ground. Robust support from regional allies is also a key part of the plan. "This is a moment for international cooperation to prove its value," his secretary of state, John Kerry, said during a meeting with the incoming Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad on Wednesday. "This is a moment for multilateralism to prove its value and have its effect."
In Congress, Democrat senators were also stressing the need for the US to act in concert with allies and were preparing legislation that would authorise American troops to take a direct role in training enemies of Isis.
Kurdish forces have provided some resistance to the Isis advance in Iraq, but the picture is bleaker in Syria, where factions opposed to the Islamists have been on the back foot for months.
"It's clear to me that we need to train and equip Syrian rebels and other groups in the Middle East that need some help," said Senate majority leader Harry Reid. "The president has tried to get that from us, and we should give it to them."
American military intervention has so far involved more than 150 airstrikes on Isis positions, mostly around the strategic Mosul dam and other sites in northern Iraq. The crucial question is whether that air campaign is broadened to take in Isis strongholds in northern Syria. Pentagon officials have admitted that the group will not be defeated as long as it can rampage through Syria with impunity.
White House officials indicated ahead of the speech that the president planned to pursue a two-pronged strategy on both sides of the border that is may well build on existing air strikes in Iraq.
"Tonight you will hear from the president how the United States will pursue a comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy Isil [Isis], including US military action and support for the forces combating Isil on the ground – both the opposition in Syria and a new, inclusive Iraqi government," said a senior administration official in a statement issued to reporters yesterday morning. "The president will discuss how we are building a coalition of allies and partners in the region and in the broader international community to support our efforts, and will talk about how we work with the Congress as a partner in these efforts."
There was also a memorandum posted on the White House website that $25m in "immediate military assistance" was to be made available for the Iraqi government and Kurdistan regional government to help with military education and training.
Obama indicated at the Nato summit last week that enlisting support from regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey would be key to present a broad front to the insurgents. On Wednesday, he spoke by phone with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Separately, France indicated that it would join the US in airstrikes against Isis fighters in Iraq if called on to do so. But the foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, warned that it was not as simple as merely extending the attacks westward into Syria, because that could be seen as supporting President Bashar al-Assad.
In contrast to Obama's failed attempt to seek Congressional backing for US air strikes against Syrian government forces last year, the president was seeking to shore up support on Capitol Hill with further briefings for senators, but has so far refused to give Congress a veto over his latest strategy. Relying on an Iraqi army that was, at least until recent US air strikes, struggling to make headway on the battlefield is a high risk strategy, but Kerry insisted that more inclusive political leadership in Baghdad provided a chance to build a more effective national guard.
"I was also encouraged to learn today that prime minister Abadi is very focused on this national guard and plans to accelerate its formulation during his first cabinet meeting this week," said Kerry.
"The United States is prepared to provide technical advice and assistance in order to help the Iraqis move this very important initiative forward … it's the only way that Iraq has any hope of actually securing the effective, inclusive government that the Iraqi people demand and deserve."
Kerry also hopes to enlist further support from Sunni governments in the region, following commitments from Nato members at the recent summit in Wales. "Nearly every country on Earth could have an ability and an interest to join in this effort, whether by providing military assistance, by helping to track and stop the flow of foreign fighters, helping to track and stop the flow of money," he said during a press conference at the US embassy in Baghdad," said Kerry.
"It is necessary for moderate, reasonable people around the world to repudiate the distortion of Islam that ISIL seeks to spread and to contribute, as they do, to the urgent humanitarian relief effort that is required because of their barbarity."
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