PARIS: The leaders of France and Iraq on
Monday urged swift action against Islamic
State militants, with French President Francois
Hollande warning there was "no time to lose"
as he opened an international conference to
shore up an anti-jihadist coalition.
"The fight of the Iraqis against terrorism is our
fight as well," Hollande told representatives
from around 30 countries and organizations,
urging "clear, loyal and strong" global support
for Iraq.
Iraqi President Fuad Masum also stressed the
urgency of firm action, as the beheading of a
third Western hostage in the run-up to the
conference stepped up the pressure on the
international community to destroy the Islamic
State (IS) extremist group.
"They need to act quickly because if there is a
delay, if this campaign and this support for Iraq
is delayed, maybe Daesh will occupy other
territories and their threat will be even bigger,"
said Masum, using an alternative name for IS.
"We are still asking for regular aerial operations
against terrorist sites. We have to pursue them
wherever they are. We need to dry up their
sources of finance," added the Iraqi leader.
As if to underscore the urgency of the
campaign, France announced just hours ahead
of the conference that it was joining Britain in
carrying out reconnaissance flights in support of
the US air campaign against the jihadists.
"This very morning, the first reconnaissance
flights will be carried out in agreement with the
Iraqi and Emirati authorities," Defence Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian told French troops,
including pilots, at the Al-Dhafra base in the
United Arab Emirates.
Shortly afterwards, two French Rafale fighter
jets took off from the base, an AFP
correspondent reported.
All bases covered
During the conference, US Secretary of State
John Kerry will seek to fine-tune the strategy of
the US-led coalition against IS, following a
marathon tour through the Middle East to drum
up support.
He told CBS's Face the Nation that "all bases
were covered" in the coalition with some allies
offering air strikes and others boots on the
ground.
He stressed however that "we are not looking
for that at this moment anyway."
"Every single aspect of the president's strategy,
and what is needed to be done in order to
accomplish our goal, has been offered by one
country or multiple countries, and all bases are
covered," Kerry said.
US President Barack Obama has set out a
strategy to defeat IS that would include air
strikes in Syria and expanded operations in Iraq,
where US aircraft have carried out more than
160 strikes since early August.
The US leader also foresees training "moderate"
Syrian rebels to take on IS and to reconstitute
the Iraqi army, parts of which fled an IS
blitzkrieg across northern and western Iraq.
Opposition forces would do the fighting on the
ground in Syria, augmented by US and allied air
support, he said.
Washington would not coordinate air attacks
with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, but
would ensure their forces do not come into
conflict.
Hollande said that the international community
"needs to find a durable solution in the place
where the (IS) movement was born. In Syria."
"The chaos is benefiting the terrorists. We
therefore need to support those who can
negotiate and make the required compromises
to secure the future of Syria," said Hollande.
"They are the forces of the democratic
opposition. They need to be backed by all
means," added the president.
The coalition received a boost when Australian
Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to deploy
600 troops to the United Arab Emirates, a
regional Washington ally.
Ten Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, are
among the countries backing the coalition.
Speaking in Paris, a US official said the number
of countries signing on was "going up almost
every hour," from Europe and the Middle East
right across to Japan, South Korea and New
Zealand.
Embodiment of evil
The gruesome beheading of British aid worker
David Haines has increased the urgency of the
Paris talks, as Prime Minister David Cameron
vowed on the eve of the conference that Britain
will hunt down those responsible for the aid
worker's murder, describing them as the
"embodiment of evil".
Haines was the third Western hostage to be
beheaded by the militants in less than a month.
IS released a video Saturday showing his killing
and issued a death threat against another
British captive, Alan Henning.
Obama offered US support for its "ally in grief",
after two Americans were killed by the jihadists,
while the UN Security Council condemned the
"heinous and cowardly murder."
Haines, 44, who was taken hostage in Syria last
year, had previously been shown alive in the
video of US journalist Steven Sotloff's killing.
His attacker, apparently the same man speaking
in a British accent as in the videos showing the
killing of the US hostages, told Britain the
alliance with the US will "accelerate your
destruction" and will drag the British people into
"another bloody and unwinnable war".