Wednesday, 12 November, 2014 , 17:43
Foreignpolicy.com | by Justine Drennan
As the Obama administration has ramped up its campaign against the so-called Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, it has tried to present itself as acting with the support of a broad range of partner nations.
The State Department lists 62 countries as members of the “global coalition to degrade and defeat ISIL.” But the bar for inclusion is apparently fairly low. Although many countries have pledged military or humanitarian support, the State Department indicates that simply "exposing ISIL's true nature" can qualify a nation for the coalition.
The list, moreover, remains largely unchanged since September. The only recent -- minor -- addition came on Monday, Nov. 3, when Singapore pledged an aerial-refueling aircraft and military personnel to serve in advisory roles in the region. Just a handful of coalition partners, meanwhile, have joined the United States-dominated air campaign against ISIS, which had made about 800 airstrikes as of Nov. 7. That day, the White House doubled the number of U.S. troops authorized for deployment in Iraq, bringing the total to more than 3,000, although as before, none will operate in direct combat roles.
Many governments, including Australia’s, New Zealand’s, and Canada’s, are also turning inward to target nationals trying to leave their home countries to join ISIS. The increased surveillance to help find those citizens and broader detention powers those governments are granting themselves have critics warning that they’re jeopardizing civil liberties in the process.
The table below tracks major developments in partner commitments, including the date of the first strikes by each country involved in the air campaign and each country’s most recently announced total contributions of military and/or humanitarian aid.
This table will be updated periodically as coalition members’ commitments change.
*Has yet to commit to send any military assistance.
**Nature or specifics of the commitment unclear.