TweetThe U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State militant group is expected to dominate President Obama's address Wednesday morning before the United Nations General Assembly, as other nations including Great Britain weigh taking on a greater role.

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TweetNotice that these airstrikes on Islamic State and al Qaeda positions in Syria on Sept 22 was not with the help and backing of traditional allies such as France or the United Kingdom, but rather , surprisingly, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan and Qatar !

This coalition is the largest grouping of Arab military forces against a common target since the 1991 Gulf War....That is one of the good things about Obama not committing to ground troops, other than avoiding a reboot of Iraq, it sends the message that these guys need to police their own. Notice this coalition was by regional Sunni actors and is a serendipitous occasion for diplomacy and aggressive military action and it all goes back to 2003 when Iran's ( shiite) sphere of influence in the Arab world expanded with the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime ( to the consternation of Sunni Arab states such as Saudi Arabia) and with a moderate like President Rouhani possibly reaching a U.S.-Iranian rapprochement, this is unnerving the Sunnis.


Britain will change it's mind since the joint airstrikes provide regional backing and legitimacy to U.S. actions in Iraq. More important, they provide legitimacy for its actions in Syria.


I'm glad President Obama is attempting to establish a new strategy, one that reduces direct U.S. military involvement, encouraging a greater role for regional players in containing conflicts .......