Defense chiefs from 22 nations are at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington discussing strategy in the battle against the Islamic State.
President Obama, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, chief of U.S. Central Command, will discuss on Tuesday coalition shortcomings and opportunities for applying additional pressure to Islamic State militants with partner nations who have a stake in a sprawling, multinational operation that encompasses Iraq and Syria, according to Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren.
“It’s an opportunity to get all of the chiefs of defense together to talk about how each one of them is contributing, what other contributions they can make, and to align the contributions so we can find out where we have shortages and if there is anyone capable of filling in those shortages,” he said.
The top generals for Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom are attending the meeting, according to a defense official.
Some of the partner nations attending the meeting have been contributing military equipment and humanitarian aid to Iraqi Security forces and Kurdish fighters in Iraq. Other coalition partners have committed their fighter jets to conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey has been skittish about taking a strong position among coalition efforts.
Turkish officials previously refrained from making commitments to the war against the Islamic State because the groups members were holding hostage 49 Turkish consulate employees from the Turkish consulate in Mosul, Iraq. Those hostages were set free in mid-September.
It remains uncertain what role Turkey will play in the coalition.
National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice announced announced on Sunday that Turkey planned to allow U.S.-led forces battling the Islamic State to conduct operations from bases inside Turkish borders. Turkish officials on Monday denied the existence of a deal — an awkward blow for the Obama administration.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday it’s clear, based on public comments from Turkish officials, that there is confusion about whether an agreement has been reached.
“This is something we continue to discuss with them,” he said.
The U.S. military does not anticipate making specific requests of its allies during the meeting, Col. Warren said.
• Maggie Ybarra can be reached at mybarra@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.