Jordan mobilises troops along Iraq border

Jordan has mobilised its armed forces along its border with Iraq amid reports that ISIS have taken control of key border towns in Iraq.

Jordanian military sources said the Kingdom mobilised dozens of units near the Jordanian border town of Al-Karama.

US President Barack Obama said in an interview aired yesterday that the risks posed by the relentless attack of the armed Islamist extremists in Iraq affect the stability of the entire region.

Obama ruled out intervention by American forces, fearing that the insurgents would be stronger. He said the “extremists’ ideology poses a medium – and long-term threat to the US”.

He added: “Right now the problem with Isis is the fact that they’re destabilising the country. That could spill over into some of our allies like Jordan. They are engaged in wars in Syria where – in that vacuum that’s been created – they could amass more arms, more resources.”

He believes that the local population in Iraq will end up rejecting the extremists because of their violence and radicalism.

“We’ve seen that time and time again. We saw it during the Iraq War in places like Anbar province where Sunni tribes suddenly turned against them because of their extreme ideology,” Obama explained.

The president also pointed out the dangers posed by other extreme organisations such as Al-Qaeda in Yemen and Boko Haram in Nigeria

Meanwhile, former US Vice President Dick Cheney said Obama was responsible for the situation in Iraq.

Cheney said yesterday: “When we’re arguing over 300 advisers when the request had been for 20,000 in order to do the job right, I’m not sure we’ve really addressed the problem.” He went on to accuse the president of destroying the defence budget.

Cheney did not call for any specific military actions. “I think at this point there are no good, easy answers in Iraq,” he said.