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| RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet (File Photo) |
By Zachary Keck
U.S. officials believe that Australia and Great Britain will participate in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.
Australia may help the U.S. conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State of al-Sham and Iraq (ISIS) in Syria, according to the New York Times.
On Tuesday night, the New York Times published an article that said “the United States has begun to mobilize a broad coalition of allies behind potential American military action in Syria.” The report went on to say that, “White House began its diplomatic campaign to enlist allies and neighbors in the region to increase their support for Syria’s moderate opposition and, in some cases, to provide support for possible American military operations.”
Most of the countries the report listed were indeed ones from the region, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the report also cited unnamed Obama administration officials as saying that they believe that Great Britain and Australia would be willing to actually join the U.S. in mounting the air assault in Syria.
This assessment, if accurate, isn’t a complete surprise. After all, Australia was one of the most active members of the “coalitions of the willing” that the U.S. organized to help fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
More notably, as Kevin Placek reported on Oceania last week, Australian security officials have grown increasingly concerned over the threat of homegrown terrorism in recent months.
Read the full story at The Diplomat