This is an entry from: Live Blog: War against Islamic State
Iraqi president hammers out message that IS is a global threat
26 September 2014 19:14 BST
Iraqi President Fouad Massoum told the UN General Council on Friday afternoon that Iraq’s government, sworn in earlier this month, was established in “a response to a real danger stalking us all – ISIS.”
In his 10-minute or so speech, Massoum focused broadly on the fight against Islamic State militants without saying anything particularly controversial or specific. He thanked the US-led coalition of countries who recently gathered in Jeddah and Paris ahead of expanding the campaign against IS with airstrikes in Syria. “I would like to express the gratitude of the people of Iraq in all of their stripes for all of those who stood by us in our war against enemies of humanity,” Massoum said.
He also said:
- “The most dangerous phenomenon of the Islamic State is a new generation of terrorists who have American and EU citizenship.”
- “We in Iraq are determined to cleanse our land of ISIS. We would like to stress to you that eliminating ISIS will be an important step in defending and protecting the world against this danger.”
- “I stand here as a representative of a country that was decimated by terror for over a decade. On behalf of the millions of families of martyrs and orphans and the bereaved, I am here to tell you that we have no other option but to defeat ISIS everywhere.”
- It pained Iraqis to see “the suffering of the fraternal people in Gaza and other Palestinian people lately” and encouraged the international community to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
- Iraq wished Yemen and Libya “stability” and said Iraq hoped that the countries could “get rid of the threats of terrorism and extremism” and then move forward with a political path chosen by the people.