NEWPORT, Wales // Nato leaders grappled on Thursday with whether the alliance has a role in containing a mounting militant threat in the Middle East, as heads of state converged in Wales for a high-stakes summit also focused on the crisis in Ukraine and next steps in Afghanistan.
The US president Barack Obama and British prime minister David Cameron declared that their nations would “not be cowed” by extremists from the Islamic State in Ir aq and the Levant (ISIL), who have claimed responsibility for killing two American journalists. They also challenged Nato to not turn inward in the face of the threat.
“Those who want to adopt an isolationist approach misunderstand the nature of security in the 21st century,” Mr Obama and Mr Cameron wrote in a joint editorial in The Times of London. “Developments in other parts of the world, particularly in Iraq and Syria, threaten our security at home.”
Mr Obama, Mr Cameron and dozens of other Nato leaders met at a golf resort in Wales for the two-day summit. They planned to commit to a more robust rapid response force on its eastern flank, which would aim to serve as a deterrent to Russian aggression.
Yet much of the action was to take place on the sidelines of the summit, where the American and British leaders were expected to drum up support for an international response to confronting ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
The Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he believed the broader international community “has an obligation to stop the Islamic State from advancing further”, but noted that the alliance has not received any request for help.
“I’m sure that if the Iraqi government were to forward a request for Nato assistance, that would be considered seriously,” Mr Rasmussen said.
Mr Obama also held talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan, a key US ally in the Middle East that is caught in the crossfire of the region’s instability.
ISIL militants have claimed responsibility for murdering two American journalists, releasing gruesome videos of their beheadings.
Both the US and Britain are deeply concerned about the potential threat to their homelands that could come from the foreign fighters who have joined the violent extremist group.
Mr Cameron on Monday proposed new laws that would give police the power to seize the passports of Britons suspected of having travelled abroad to fight with terrorist groups.
The US began launching airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq last month, and both the US and Britain have been making humanitarian aid drops to besieged minority groups there. Mr Cameron said that he had not ruled out joining the US in airstrikes, but added that the priority was to support those already fighting the militants on the ground.
“We need to show real resolve and determination, we need to use every power and everything in our armoury with our allies – with those on the ground – to make sure we do everything we can to squeeze this dreadful organisation out of existence,” Mr Cameron told the ITV network.
Also facing Mr Obama is a decision about whether to expand US military action against the extremists to Syria. While he has said he is considering that step, he has suggested in recent days that it is not imminent.
US officials say Mr Obama is reluctant to delve into Syria’s quagmire on his own. He is expected to use some of his discussions in Wales to try to build a coalition that could join him in confronting ISIL through a combination of military might, diplomatic pressure and economic penalties.
Mr Obama and Mr Cameron held private talks on Thursday before meeting their counterparts from France, Germany and Italy to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. In a show of western solidarity, the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, also joined the discussion.
According to a White House statement, there was agreement that Russia should faced increased sanctions for its actions in eastern Ukraine.
“The leaders reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s continued flagrant vioaltion of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and agreed on the need for Russia to face increased costs for its actions,” the White House said.
Ukraine and Russia have been locked in a standoff for months, with pro-Moscow forces stirring instability in eastern Ukrainian cities. On the eve of the Nato summit, Russia and Ukraine said they were working on a deal to halt the fighting, but western leaders expressed skepticism – noting it was not the first attempt to end the deadly conflict.
A centrepiece of the Nato summit is to be the announcement of a rapid response force. Officials said the alliance could position at least 4,000 forces and military equipment in the Baltics and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.
“We must use our military to ensure a persistent presence in Eastern Europe, making clear to Russia that we will always uphold our Article 5 commitments to collective self-defence,” Mr Obama and Mr Cameron wrote.
Under Article 5 of the Nato charter, an attack on one member state is viewed on an attack on the whole alliance. Mr Obama reiterated his support for that principle on Wednesday during a visit to Estonia, one of the newer Nato members set on edge by Russia’s provocations.
Nato also faces a quandary in Afghanistan, where the alliance is due to end its combat operation this year, but finds it has no government to hand over to as presidential elections have failed to produce a winner.
Mr Rasmussen warned on Thursday that time was running out for a solution, raising doubts about Nato’s planned post-2014 training mission after it formally concludes its longest-ever war this year.
* Associated Press and Reuters
