New York: The decision by the UAE to take part in the air strikes against the militants of Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State) was a natural outcome of the country’s view that it was essential that there should be “a collective response to terror,” said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash.
In an interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, Dr Gargash held forth on the UAE’s position. “It was a natural decision; we’ve always said that we have to have a collective response to terror. And it was only natural that we would be at the forefront of it.”
Declining to give any specifics of the UAE’s role, he added: “I would say that the coalition, I think, has been very effective. We will continue to work together — also to be more effective, to eradicate this common threat.”
There would, Dr Gargash said, “definitely” be more airstrikes against Daesh targets. “I think this will be more or less as part of a concerted military operation, a collective one. And we are committed to it, I think. And this is a common threat.”
He stressed: “I think the important thing is the political will.”
“Putting this coalition together, I think, has been a great achievement for the [US] administration, for all of us together, because this is a common threat. And I think it’s extremely important that we deal with it collectively.”
Asked by Blitzer to comment on the participation of Qatar in the air strikes, Dr Gargash said: “I think it’s indicative of the threat that everybody feels is common. Nobody is basically immune. Everybody is threatened, the way of life, the values. This is, I think, a danger to all of us, terrorism. And I think this is indicative of how the coalition was built, on the sense that we need to act, we can’t be passive.”
The UAE, he said, is “a full partner, politically, logistically. Politically, of course, we support this effort wholeheartedly. Logistically, we are also host to an Australian force that also plays a role here; other forces, also. And, of course, we’ve got our pilots, and we’ve got our assets, also, in this fight.”
The role of Australia, he said, was “an essential part also of this coalition building.” Asked by Blitzer to comment on whether the so-called Khorasan group, an offshoot of Al Qaida, which is said to be making threats against the United States, was also making threats against the UAE, Dr Gargash replied: “Yes, definitely.”
“In a chaotic situation, you will always have groups and offshoots and various groups that have the same cause but will not necessarily be organised as the same organisation. So I’m not surprised that there is this group or any other group. It’s a very chaotic situation with a security vacuum,” he added.
In the current situation, he added, “I think we all have to be vigilant. But I think taking action is better than not taking action or delaying action. So I think vigilance is expected of all of us. But I think we’re doing all the right things in order to thwart this challenge once and for all.
“From our perspective,” he said, “this is a battle against terror. This is a battle about extremism, about violence that terror brings with it. And I think this is all an operational thing. I mean, definitely, we’re there not only about Daesh, we’re there against terrorism. “Terror is a challenge to our way of life, to our stability. And I think it can cover itself under different names. It knows no geography.”
Asked whether he agreed with statements from leading US senators that there should also be action against the air power of Syria’s Bashar Al Assad if such resources continued to be used against Syrian civilians, Dr Gargash stressed: “We think of this operation in terms of an operation against terror. There has to be, also, a part of this operation [that] involves a lot of political work. Definitely, I think we are with the idea that the current regime in Syria should not benefit from this, but we think, also, a lot of political work has to be done. There’s a lot of legwork to also pursue along the line as we pursue the military option.”
The objective of the UAE is to work towards stability in the region, he said. “We want stability. We want to end this terror challenge. And I don’t think we want anybody to benefit from that challenge because Daesh is hit or this other group is hit.”
In terms of other options besides the use of air power, Dr Gargash said: “The UAE is part of a coalition. And the UAE believes that a lot of the political legwork that can be done on the ground will bring us good alternatives here to cover whatever expected vacuum there is.” He added: “We’re in it for the long haul we are committed. I think it’s too early now to really put a real assessment of how long we’re looking at. We’re in on Day One [of the strikes on militants]. But definitely, we need to do the job right.”
