Ash Carter on Anti-ISIL Coalition: 'Many' Members 'Not Doing Enough or Doing Nothing at All'
(CNSNews.com) - Several times in recent days, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has complained that "many" of the 65 members of the U.S.-led, anti-ISIL coalition are not doing enough to defeat the Islamic State. He specifically said he would "like Turkey to do more."
Carter told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday that he came to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to talk to "others" about "what role they can play" in defeating ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
"These are the guys who are already doing quite a bit, but they can do more. And then in two weeks, I'll bring together the defense ministers of everyone else who is, on paper, a member of the counter-ISIL coalition, but many of them are not doing enough or doing nothing at all."
Carter said the United States is "prepared to do a great deal" in the fight "because we have the finest fighting force the world has ever seen. We can do a lot ourselves, but you know, the United States doesn't ask people for favors. We don't grant favors either, and so we're looking for other people to do -- play their part, and by describing our operations plans, they can see how they might fit in and their capabilities might fit in."
Carter said the current operational plan is to retake Mosul in Iraq and Raqqah in Syria: "Mosul is the biggest city they occupy in Iraq. It needs to be retaken. And Raqqah is what they call the capital of their so-called state."
Carter said Raqqah is also "where people sit at keyboards and try to get Americans to attack Americans, orchestrate jihadi attacks in Paris. We can't have that. So we need to destroy them in those two places, and I'd like to get on with that as soon as possible.
"As I said, we're prepared to do a lot, but, you know, when they're defeated, we'll remember who helped."
Delivering remarks on the same day at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Carter was asked, "Do you feel Turkey is doing enough to support you?"
"I would like Turkey to do more," Carter responded. "By history, by geography, Turkey is in a pivotal position here. Now, Turkey's a long-time friend of ours, it's a NATO ally. We're strongly in support of them, we stand with it in terms of defense of its own territory. But the reality is, it shares a big border with Iraq and Syria, which border has been porous to foreign fighters...going in both directions, and I think the Turks can do more.
"I think the Turks can do more to fight ISIL," Carter continued. "They're helping us fight ISIL by, for example, hosting our aircraft in Turkey. I'm grateful for that, but I think they can do more. So I -- they're on the list of -- and I'm sorry to say it's a -- it's -- it's not a small list, of countries that I think could make contributions that are distinctive, unique and necessary to the defeat of ISIL.
"One of the reasons I'm in Europe this week...is to talk to the defense ministers of all the coalition. I met with the key seven in Paris two days ago. (Those "key seven" include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.)
"I'm going to convene all of the defense ministers -- first time ever -- of the coalition to defeat ISIL in Brussels in a couple of weeks. And precisely the purpose there is to set expectations in terms of the capabilities that will be needed from everybody, Turkey included."
On Dec. 1, 2015, Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) told the House Armed Services Committee that roughly 50 of the 65 countries participating in the anti-ISIL coalition have never been directly involved in the air campaign; and some, such as Canada, have now ceased their military involvement.
"Well, you're right," Carter told Tsongas. He said he hoped the terror attacks in Paris would "galvanize all of Europe to do more, because they need to do more."
As for the Gulf States, including Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia, Carter said those states would be the "natural force" to fight ISIS in the Sunnit areas of Syria and Iraq. He said Sunni fighters would be "more effective and insightful," but the Gulf States have been unwilling to field such forces.
"Can you talk more about the why?" Tsongas asked Carter.
"Well, I'm going to be candid with you, and I've said this before. Many of the Gulf states weight air capabilities, air forces and so forth over ground forces and special operations forces.
"And I think that if they want to, as we would wish them to, wield more influence in the Middle East and do more to secure this part of the world in which they live, too, they're going to need to do more of that on the ground. And buying our airplanes is fine and that's -- and we provide them.
"But, when it comes to ground forces and special operations forces, there's no question that they need to build those forces and wield them. They frequently complain to me, for example, about how capable the Iranians are. To which I say, yes -- and you're not in the same game, an effective game on the ground."
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