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The UAE, the Chester to Saudi Arabia’s Spike (ask your parents)…
has now reacted to Riyadh’s offer to send soldiers to Syria do, um, fight…somebody. Apparently, they’re in as well:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Sunday it was ready to supply ground troops to help support and train an international military coalition against Islamic State in Syria provided such efforts were led by the United States.
Asked whether the UAE could be expected to send ground troops to Syria, and if so under what circumstances, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said:
“I think that this has been our position throughout … that a real campaign against Daesh has to include ground elements,” he said, referring to Islamic State’s name using the Arabic acronym.
Saudi Arabia, one of several Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab states, including the UAE, who are opposed to Islamic State, said last week it was ready to participate in any ground operations in Syria if the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants decided to start such operations.
The Assad government, grateful for these offers of assistance from their fellow Arab autocrats, has kindly let the Saudis and Emiratis know that, should they send any troops to Syria, those troops will definitely be returned home, presumably at Syrian expense:
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem has warned that any foreign ground troops entering his country would “return home in wooden coffins.”
Al-Moallem spoke Saturday at his ministry in Damascus, responding to questions by reporters.
It’s nice that we’re all working together like this. And Muallem isn’t just making idle promises! After all, Iran keeps sending foreign ground troops to Syria, and, I mean, I don’t know about the wooden coffins, but they definitely keep returning home inside something. Anyway, it looks like the grand anti-ISIS coalition is really starting to come together. Good work, everybody.
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 