US envoy: Preventative action against IS essential

If preventative action is not taken against the Islamic State, the threat will only grow and endanger the United States and its allies in the region, US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said Thursday.

“We understand that an organization like IS, if we don’t take action sooner rather than later, the group can grow and the threat it will pose to us and our allies … can grow to a point where it will be very difficult to counter,” Shapiro told Channel 2.

The US envoy said that the public address given by US President Barack Obama on Wednesday “proved that the he is ready to lead a whole campaign against [this] very significant threat.”

“The goal is very clear” — to “weaken and ultimately destroy the Islamic State,” he said, echoing a similar statement by Obama a day earlier.

The US will “degrade and ultimately destroy” the terrorist group, Obama had pledged on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In his much-anticipated televised address Wednesday night, the president said America will lead a broad coalition to roll back the Islamic State terrorist group, calling for a “systematic campaign of air strikes, hitting IS targets as Iraqi forces go on the offensive.” He said American bombers would not hesitate to hit IS in Syria as well as Iraq.

American airstrikes are supported by Iraqi ground forces, Kurdish forces, and the moderate Syrian opposition, Shapiro urged, adding that the US would like to see the latter’s role increased.

“Now US Secretary of State John Kerry is in the Mideast to ratchet up regional support for fighting the Islamic State. Every country can contribute something,” he said

“We will lead this campaign, we will urge other to join us and we will not stop until our goal is achieved,” Shapiro promised.

Earlier Thursday, the UN envoy expressed confidence that Israel and the US could work together in the fight against the Islamic State.

“There is no doubt that every nation has something to contribute to this effort, including Israel,” Shapiro told Israel Radio. “There is always close and full cooperation with Israel against mutual threats … I am sure our intelligence services will continue this cooperation when it comes to [IS] just as they have against other threats.”

Shapiro also said that “we will make an effort to arrange a meeting” between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Netanyahu visit to the US after the Jewish New Year.

Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to New York on September 27 for the United Nations General Assembly and return before the Yom Kippur holiday on October 3.

Obama’s speech Wednesday marked a major US escalation, despite Obama having devoted much of his presidency to pulling America out of wars in the Middle East and avoiding new foreign entanglements.

“Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into — and out of — the Middle East,” he said.

While Israel is unlikely to directly participate in any military operations against IS, Jerusalem has already provided the US with intelligence and satellite images on Islamic State positions, as well as information on Westerners joining its ranks, to assist Washington in its ongoing operation against the Islamic State, according to a report by Reuters, citing an unnamed Western official.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Tuesday called for world intelligence agencies to work together against the Islamic State jihadist group.