AN America-led coalition to take on the Islamic State (IS) — formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham — is now a reality, with regional states appearing more than willing to be part of it.

The idea had been floating around for quite some time, but on Friday the White House clinched the issue when it said America was “at war” with the IS the way “we are at war with Al Qaeda” and its affiliates.

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A day earlier, President Barack Obama announced his country would lead “a broad coalition to roll back” the IS’s military offensive, because it was a terrorist organisation “pure and simple”.

Arab support for the coalition idea came on Thursday in Jeddah, where US Secretary of State John Kerry and 10 Arab countries pledged to “do their share in the comprehensive fight” against the IS.

Mindful of domestic criticism for involving America in another war in the Middle East, President Obama said on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 that America would “degrade and ultimately destroy” the IS through air strikes.

The array of regional states on America’s side is impressive: six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, besides Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

But Syria and Iran are not there, while Turkey has said it will not allow its airbases to be used for strikes against IS.

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That means Arab support will be non-military — stopping the flow of funds and fighters to IS and rebuilding “brutalised communities”, as a communiqué put it, and it is America which will have to bare its military teeth.

Regrettably, America’s record leaves little room for optimism. It destroyed Saddam Hussein’s regime and helped in the overthrow of the Qadhafi regime.

The result is the anarchy we have been witnessing in Iraq and Libya, while Afghanistan is a story unto itself.

If the IS’s mass murderers are to be checked and destroyed, real efforts will have to come from such regional heavyweights as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Published in Dawn, September 15th , 2014