All-out offensive on IS soon

Arabs suspect US and allies not fully serious on IS, Iran

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi has called for the creation of a unified Arab force to battle the spread of Islamic extremist groups. "There is an urgent need for the creation of a multi-purpose common Arab military force... able to intervene rapidly to fight terrorism and the activities of terrorist groups," Arabi told a meeting of league foreign ministers in Cairo.

Arabi has suggested that a number of Arab League members, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, are considering supporting the idea.

The general feeling in Cairo and other Arab capitals is that the US and the Western world are not serious when it comes to confronting the threat of Iran, the Islamic State or other terrorist groups in the Middle East. Egypt has already launched its own strikes against IS targets in Libya, where the jihadists last month murdered 21 mainly Egyptian Coptic Christians. Thanks to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi 's new and bold approach, there is a real chance that Arabs will lead the fight against extremists and terrorists.

There is especially a growing concern in the Arab world, particularly the Gulf, about the indifference in Washington and EU capitals toward the Iranian threat to stability in the Middle East. As the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram noted this week, "Not only has Iran occupied three islands of the UAE, but it is now besieging the Gulf countries and trying to create a new reality on the ground by pushing its Houthi supporters in Yemen to seize control of the country and backing its supporters in Bahrain to destabilize the country, in addition to what it is already doing in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Add to this the terrorism of radical groups that are igniting fires in several areas in the region." Meanwhile, differences remain in Paris’ and Washington’s approach to the IS, notably France’s decision to forgo airstrikes in Syria. The French government suggested that such strikes could benefit Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad, whom the West want to see replaced.

Increasing role of Iran
Since last summer, Iran has sent fighters and weapons to the front lines to help rally Iraqi forces and push Islamic State back from the Kurdish city of Irbil and the outskirts of Baghdad. Iranian warplanes have made limited airstrikes on targets near its borders with Iraq.

But Iran's role has grown far more overt in the operation to reclaim Tikrit.

That's created a quandary for the Obama administration. US officials are eager for Iraq to fight its own battles. But they worry that Iran's growing involvement will fuel another sectarian bloodletting, pitting battle-hardened Shiite militias against Sunni tribes and Kurdish factions in the north.