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| Kerry seeks Arab support in Saudi Arabia for fight against Islamic State | Kerry seeks Arab support in Saudi Arabia for fight against Islamic State |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. and Arab diplomats moved swiftly Thursday to rally military and financial backing for a wider international assault against Islamic State militants. | |
| Following up on President Obama’s call to arms against the network that has laid claim to a third of the territory of Iraq and Syria, Secretary of State John F. Kerry was meeting here with diplomats from across the Middle East. | Following up on President Obama’s call to arms against the network that has laid claim to a third of the territory of Iraq and Syria, Secretary of State John F. Kerry was meeting here with diplomats from across the Middle East. |
| The group is considering expanded military help such as more bases for airstrikes and new Arab training initiatives for Syrian rebels fighting the Islamists as well as Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. | |
| “It’s a very important meeting, and we very much look forward to our discussions,” Kerry said as he and longtime Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal met separately ahead of a hastily arranged larger gathering of Arab diplomats in this seaside city. | |
| Saudi Arabia is a linchpin of the strategy Obama outlined in a prime-time address Wednesday, because of its wealth and well-equipped military and because of its role as the spiritual leader among Sunni Arab states. | |
| The fast rise of the Islamic State network unnerved Saudi rulers, along with the authoritarian Sunni governments in Jordan and Egypt. | The fast rise of the Islamic State network unnerved Saudi rulers, along with the authoritarian Sunni governments in Jordan and Egypt. |
| All are expected to contribute money, military resources such as bases and trainers, or diplomatic support for an Arab coalition against the militants. | All are expected to contribute money, military resources such as bases and trainers, or diplomatic support for an Arab coalition against the militants. |
| “They didn’t truly understand ISIL’s reach and its ability to control territory,” a senior State Department official said, using an alternate acronym for the group. “That’s really the distinguishing factor here. It controls territory,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the additional commitments from Arab governments have not yet been announced. | |
| Those same Sunni Arab governments were also unwilling to commit major resources to fighting the militants inside Iraq under the leadership of Nouri al-Maliki, who left office this week after eight years as prime minister. Maliki was widely viewed as a Shiite partisan who systematically marginalized Iraq’s Sunni minority. | |
| The Saudi government convened Thursday’s conference following Maliki’s replacement with a Shiite leader seen as more willing to share power. | |
| “Now they have a much deeper appreciation of what ISIL could mean to them, and the Iraq transition has moved ahead reasonably successfully,” the State Department official said of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states. “So I think their thinking has altered on that.” | “Now they have a much deeper appreciation of what ISIL could mean to them, and the Iraq transition has moved ahead reasonably successfully,” the State Department official said of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states. “So I think their thinking has altered on that.” |
| The Saudi kingdom has been critical of what its leaders saw as a slow and reluctant U.S. response to the Syrian civil war that spawned the terrorist network. Saudi anger over Obama’s cancellation of planned airstrikes last year soured relations for months. | The Saudi kingdom has been critical of what its leaders saw as a slow and reluctant U.S. response to the Syrian civil war that spawned the terrorist network. Saudi anger over Obama’s cancellation of planned airstrikes last year soured relations for months. |
| Although Obama insisted Wednesday that he is not leading the United States back to war, the much wider campaign he outlined includes airstrikes in Syria supported by the Saudis. | Although Obama insisted Wednesday that he is not leading the United States back to war, the much wider campaign he outlined includes airstrikes in Syria supported by the Saudis. |
| Obama spoke to Saudi King Abdullah hours before the speech Wednesday. | Obama spoke to Saudi King Abdullah hours before the speech Wednesday. |