Air strikes alone won’t defeat Islamic State, warns US

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has delivered a tough, unambiguous message to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members, including Canada, saying the United States expects them to do more in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Mr Kerry said that progress had been made on sealing the porous border between Syria and Turkey, which has been an important lifeline for the Islamic State and an irritant for the countries fighting the militant group.

“They have to be troops from those countries (who) know the culture, know the groups, know the terrain”, he told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The US objectives in the crisis-hit country are, however, going “down in flames, said he political commentator, further describing the situation as an “absolute failure” for the US, which has been at the head of a so-called coalition allegedly against Daesh militants”.

The announcement of the new special operations force comes as Republicans have called for more United States boots on the ground, while war-weary Americans stand divided about the prospect of greater military involvement. He expressed “full and total respect” for al-Abadi’s leadership, and said plans would go forward “in full consultation and with full consent of the Iraqi government”.

On Wednesday, Kerry visited the residence of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade.

Assad’s main allies, Iran and Russian Federation, have earlier announced that whether the Syrian president stays in power of leaves it remains up to the Syrian people to decide through elections.

The army should not be allowed “to implode” or the health and education systems to fall apart, Mr Kerry said, describing those possibilities as “disastrous”.

But Kerry also said that Russian Federation, if its focus on fighting IS is “genuine”, could have a constructive effect in bringing peace. There was also discussion about fully reactivating the NATO-Russia Council, which, prior to the annexation of Crimea, had been a forum for dialogue between the former Cold War adversaries.

The U.S. has spoken generally of degrading and eventually destroying the group.

He praised British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Parliament is poised to vote on expanding airstrikes into Syria and Germany, which plans to deploy ships and surveillance aircraft to support operations against ISIL.