U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently visited Egypt in an effort to advance both countries' common strategic interests, top among them the fight against the barbaric terrorist group known as ISIL, or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
"As an intellectual and cultural capital of the Muslim world," said Secretary Kerry, "Egypt has a critical role to play in publicly renouncing the ideology that ISIL disseminates." Secretary Kerry said Egypt was on the “frontline of the fight against terrorism, particularly when it comes to fighting extremist groups in Sinai”.
Egyptian security officials say they face a threat from the Sinai-based Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, Egypt’s most dangerous terrorist group.
The U.S. continues to support Egypt’s campaign against the Sinai-based terrorists, who have killed scores of policemen and soldiers. That is why the U.S. announced last month the intention to move forward on the delivery of ten Apache helicopters.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt "support[s] all international effort[s] to fight terrorism and we support these efforts and we will take all measures that are intended to eliminate this phenomena altogether."
The best way to eliminate the ISIL threat, said Secretary Kerry, is by building a global coalition that will offer broad support to the Iraqi government, including military and humanitarian assistance. This coalition of nations must also find ways to stop the illicit funding streams that support ISIL and the flow of foreign fighters. At the same time, it is important for Muslim leaders both political and religious to speak out and repudiate the gross distortion of Islam that ISIL is spreading.
"Almost every country," said Secretary Kerry, "has an ability to play some kind of role in this fight against ISIL, and to join this coalition one way or the other. And we are committed to working with nations in every corner of the globe to. . .push back against terrorism."
The goal, said Secretary Kerry, is "to degrade and ultimately to defeat ISIL wherever it exists."
