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11/22/2024 02:37:21 am

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John Kerry Forms Coalition At NATO Summit To Fight ISIS

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

(Photo : Reuters/Evan Vucci/Pool) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gestures during a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels April 23, 2013.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gathered diplomats from 10 countries during the NATO summit to form a coalition and fight the growing threat the Islamic State of Greater Iraq and Syria (ISIS) poses.

Alongside Kerry was U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Both men urged representatives from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK to extend financial and military support in the fight against ISIS.

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The gathering was a success after Kerry and Hagel secured the NATO allies’ support who agreed to provide supplies and air support in fighting ISIS.

In a joint statement, Kerry and Hagel described what transpired during their morning meeting with the NATO representatives. Both said their key allies take the ISIS threat seriously.

“We and the Ministers agreed here today that there is no time to waste in building a broad international coalition to degrade, and ultimately, to destroy the threat posed by [ISIS],” the statement read.

Reports said that Kerry reiterated his op-ed column published by the New York Times. In the op-ed, he called for a global coalition that would rally against ISIS. He said that the only way to stop the spread of the ISIS cancer is to form a united response to deal with a common enemy.

Kerry also wrote that air strikes alone will not stop ISIS from its path and the entire world needs a more comprehensive response. He added that those bent on curbing the ISIS rampage must support Iraqi forces and the moderate Syrian opposition that are going head-to-head against the Islamic militant group on the front lines.

“We have the technology, we have the know-how, [but] what we need is the willpower to make sure that we are ready and stay at this,” Kerry said in the statement.

Kerry has expressed the urgency for countries attending the NATO summit to form a coalition. He said that a coalition of countries is a first major step and must develop a plan before the UN Security Council convenes in two weeks.

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