"This [NATO] ministerial marks the beginning of a new stage in the coalition campaign to defeat ISIL," [American Secretary of Defense] Carter said, using a common acronym for the militants. He suggested that countries not answering his call to do more may regret their choice when the struggle is over.
"We will all look back after victory and remember who participated in the fight," he said. [Emphasis added]
Recall that George W. Bush gathered a (much mocked by the Left) "coalition of the willing" to destroy the Saddam regime and help stabilize Iraq.
Remember how Bush wrecked our standing in the world? How he alienated allies and how President Obama's mere existence would restore our esteem and alliances?
And now with hope and change, we have to threaten our treaty allies to help us fight enemies with cartoon levels of evil in Iraq and Syria.
Yet apparently, our resolve and threats aren't enough to keep Saudi Arabia from forming their own coalition:
Armed forces from around 20 countries were gathering in northern Saudi Arabia Sunday for "the most important" military manoeuvre ever staged in the region, the official news agency SPA reported.
The "Thunder of the North" exercise involving ground, air, and naval forces sends a "clear message" that Riyadh and its allies "stand united in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region", SPA said.
Although to be fair, I remember expressing hope that the Bush administration would remember who participated in that Iraq War 1.0 and who didn't. So good on that part, anyway.
May these prodded allies refrain from pointing out (too much) that we blew the victory that now requires a new stage in the campaign to re-defeat jihadis in Iraq War 2.0. But maybe that's what the parallel coalition is for.
