Perspective on the Arab world

His Majesty King Abdullah started his working visit to Washington on December 5, meeting high US officials, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

These preliminary meetings, which set the stage for talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House, covered a variety of issues, including the ongoing fight against the Islamic State forces in Syria and Iraq.

Representatives of the anti-IS coalition have just ended a conference in Brussels on how to better coordinate their efforts in the fight against terrorism and radicalism in the region, having realised that aerial attacks have not made a significant dent in this terrorist group’s military offensive in Syria and Iraq.

The King cautioned US officials that any effective action against IS must be conceived and conducted first and foremost in an Arab framework.

The coalition against IS could indeed be more efficient after having been joined by several key Arab states.

After all, the fight against IS in the region is first and foremost an Arab fight, since Arab countries are directly threatened by these ruthless militants who are proliferating across the region.

But in order for the Arab world to succeed in its fight against terrorism and radicalism, it needs military and economic assistance.

Jordan, for example, already has its resources stretched too thin for having to cater to over a million Syrian refugees on its soil.

But the Kingdom has always adopted principled stands on regional matters, foremost among them the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and it will continue to do so.

The King, no doubt, will cover all these issues and more in his talks with Obama.

Jordanians, like most people in the region, wish for a speedy resolution of the problems plaguing the region and depleting its resources, which could be used instead to help it progress.