Kerry in Iraq: Global Coalition Would Defeat IS

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in Iraq to talk with the country's new government, predicted Wednesday that the international coalition Washington is seeking to build to defeat jihadists in Iraq and Syria would ultimately succeed.

"We all know - I think we come to this with great confidence - that, ultimately, our global coalition will succeed in eliminating the threat from Iraq, from the region and from the world," Kerry said in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Kerry made the comments after meeting earlier with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi at the start of a weeklong trip to the Middle East to rally countries to an international alliance for battling the Islamic State militant group.

Coalition building

He said he was on a mission “to assemble the broadest possible coalition for this fight.”

Kerry said some in that coalition will help train, arm and equip Iraqi forces. Others will contribute humanitarian relief or help cut off militant funding or block the flow of foreign fighters.

Kerry said his visit to Iraq wasn't just to build the coalition or to talk with Iraq's new leaders about how to move forward, but also to show Iraq that the United States will stand by them.

“We all have an interest in supporting the new government of Iraq at this particular critical junction,” he said. “The coalition that is at the heart of our global strategy I assure you will continue to grow and deepen in the days ahead.

Earlier, Kerry told al-Abadi he was “encouraged” by the premier's plans for the “reconstituting” of the military and “your commitment to broad reforms that are necessary in Iraq to bring every segment of Iraqi society to the table.”

Kerry also said he was "very encouraged" in meeting with Iraq's new leaders.

"I have never seen the unanimity without complaint about the sense of direction, about the commitment of inclusion" during my many meetings here, Kerry said.

Kerry said he was optimistic that the new Iraqi government could unite the country. Al-Abadi's predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki, was blamed for marginalizing Iraq's Sunni minority and helping give rise to extremists.

Al-Abadi faces multiple crises from the need to pull Sunni Muslims back from armed revolt to persuading minority Kurds not to break away and convincing al-Abadi's own majority Shi'ites he can protect them from Sunni hardliners.

On Wednesday, al-Abadi called for the international community to help Iraq fight the Islamic State extremists, urging all nations “to act immediately to stop the spread of this cancer”

“Of course our role is to defend our country, but the international community is responsible for protecting Iraq and protecting Iraqis and the whole region,” al-Abadi said at the close of his meeting with Kerry.

However, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, head of a powerful Shi'ite movement in Iraq, said on Wednesday that Iraq should not cooperate with “occupiers.”

“We wish for Iraq to cooperate with the neighboring countries and its allies, but not with the occupiers,” said Sadr, whose opinions hold sway over tens of thousands of militants.

His comments highlight the difficulties that al-Abadi faces in his attempts to unify a country that rival militias are threatening to tear apart.

Also, the new prime minister's cabinet is still without ministers for defense and interior. But the senior State Department official said al-Abadi was "extremely close" to getting consensus on those posts and he thought it a "wise move" to have delayed them.

Obama's speech

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to address the American people Wednesday at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT Thursday) on his strategy to deal with the threat posed by the Islamic State group, which controls parts of Iraq and Syria.

“When the world hears from President Obama this evening, he will lay out with great specificity each component of a broad strategy of how to deal with ISIL,” Kerry said.

A White House official said Wednesday Obama's plan includes "U.S. military action and support for the forces combating ISIL on the ground - both the opposition in Syria and a new, inclusive Iraqi government."

Officials have given few specifics on what Obama plans to say in the White House address. But the president has already ruled out sending U.S. forces back into Iraq.

Hours after Kerry began his visit to Baghdad, Iraqi officials said at least two car bombs exploded in an eastern part of the capital, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens more in the country's latest instance of unrest. Meetings ahead

Kerry said nearly every nation has a role in wiping out the Islamic State group. Roles will include taking up arms, sending humanitarian aid to Islamic State's victims, working to cut off funds to the group, preventing the flow of foreign fighters and counteracting propaganda.

Those efforts will likely be the focus of Kerry's talks later Wednesday when Kerry is to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah.

The U.S.'s top diplomat will then travel on Thursday to Saudi Arabia for talks that will include Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia is unnerved by the rapid advance of Islamic State fighters and fears the group could radicalize some of its own citizens and lead to attacks on the U.S.-allied government.

Obama wants Gulf Arab states to crack down on the flow of money and foreign fighters to Islamic State, consider military action and support to Sunni Muslim moderates in Iraq and Syria, possibly through direct funds.

In Jordan, Kerry is expected to receive requests for extra military aid, including helicopters and border security equipment, along with part of the $500 million the Obama administration has proposed to accelerate training of moderate Syrian rebels, a Jordanian official told Reuters.

Jordan is considered a top choice to host the training of the rebels due to its close security relationship with Washington, proximity to neighboring Syria and pool of more than 600,000 Syrian refugees.

Jordan, however, fears retaliation from Syria if its territory is used for overt training.