Bahrain calls for concerted efforts to eliminate terrorism

Foreign Affairs Minister yesterday pledged Bahrain’s full support to the Global Alliance Against Daesh calling for “concerted efforts and intensified work” among global nations to root out terrorism. Bahrain, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said, is keen to play its full role as a founding member of the alliance towards categorical elimination of terrorist organisations. However, to uproot Daesh existence in Iraq and Syria and to reinstate stability, security and development in the liberated areas, the minister said, requires concerted efforts and intensified work.

The minister was speaking during a Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition Against Daesh in Washington held in the presence of US President Donald J. Trump and senior officials from more than 70 countries around the world. The Global Coalition against ISIS was formed in September 2014 and has 79 members. Shaikh Khalid citing the significant successes and substantial progress the alliance has made across the world told the US President Donald and Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo that enhanced efforts are needed to dry up the financing sources of Daesh and other terrorist groups.

In this regard, the minister stressed the need to eliminate all forms of terrorism in the region by countering the Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the countries and ending its support for terrorism, extremism and sectarianism, emphasising the need for reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause. Saudi Arabia was represented at the meeting by a delegation led by Foreign Affairs Adel alJubeir. Speaking at the meeting, Al Jubeir said: “My country’s government will continue its fight against terrorism and its sponsoring countries, and pledges to support all international and regional efforts to eliminate terrorist organizations and the activities of destabilizing states in the region.”

According to the coalition, it has taken back more than 99pc of the territory once held by ISIS, but the threat that ISIS poses to the region and the globe remains. President Donald Trump in his speech promised to stay focused on permanently destroying the Islamic State group but asked concerned allies to contribute more. He said he expects the Islamic State group to lose all remaining territory in Syria in a week as he pledged to stay focused on fighting the extremists. “It should be formally announced sometime next week that we will have 100 per cent of the caliphate,” he said.

Trump said that the United States would remain “very, very tough” and encouraged efforts, including financial support, from other countries. “Remnants -- that’s all they have, remnants -- but remnants can be very dangerous,” he said. “Rest assured, we’ll do what it takes to defeat every ounce and every last person within the ISIS madness and defend our people from radical Islamic terrorism,” he said.

‘Tactical change’

Opening the conference, Pompeo described Trump’s troop pullout from Syria as a “tactical change” with extremists increasingly scattered around the world. “It is not a change in the mission,” Pompeo said, adding “our fight will not necessarily always be military-led.” “We are entering an era of decentralized jihad so we must be nimble in our approach as well,” he said.

Hoping to avoid the worst outcomes, Pompeo asked US partners to step up intelligence-sharing and to make up a $350 million shortfall in a fund intended to bring stability to Iraq. “Now is the time for all of us, not just America, to put our money where our mouth is,” Pompeo said.

Eyes on Turkey

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas voiced approval that Trump made clear that his troop withdrawal from Syria as well as from Afghanistan “doesn’t mean that the United States will no longer take on its leading role in the fight against ISIS.” “Now it is important that in the upcoming weeks that we talk about how this will be organized and who will take on which tasks,” Maas told reporters.

One key item under discussion is whether to set up a buffer zone along the Syrian border with Turkey. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who were at the forefront of the battle that crushed the Islamic State, have warned that they may no longer be able to guard prisons housing jihadists from France, Britain and other foreign countries after the US withdrawal if Turkey attacks.