ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Washington’s Arab friends are losing patience with the West having no strategy to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) group, and at least one Arab ally is considering direct arms supplies to Iraq’s Kurds, a British daily reported on Thursday.
The Telegraph newspaper reported that the Arab allies are not ready to wait longer for a US or European decision, amidst growing territorial gains by ISIS.
“If the Americans and the West are not prepared to do anything serious about defeating ISIS, then we will have to find new ways of dealing with the threat,” the paper quoted a senior Arab government official as saying, on condition of anonymity.
The official added: “There is simply no strategic approach, there is a lack of coordination in selecting targets, and there is no overall plan for defeating ISIS.”
The US have prohibited shipping heavy weapons directly to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq, insisting such deliveries must go through the central government in Baghdad.
The report suggested that “at least” one Arab state is studying the option of flying heavy weapons to the Peshmerga, despite US and Iraqi opposition.
With backing from the US-led coalition, the Kurds in Iraq and Syria have been the most effective force on the ground against ISIS.
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