Previous reports have ten or forty countries agreeing to join the coalition.
The White House said Sunday it will find countries willing to send combat troops to fight Islamic extremists in Syria and Iraq, but it’s too early to identify them.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough signaled that the State Department in coming days will name allies that will pledge ground troops to fight the Islamic State group, something the United States does not plan to do. Meantime, McDonough said, U.S. personnel will train and equip Iraqi forces and moderate Syrian rebels to combat the extremist group, also known as ISIS and ISIL.
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the United States will ramp up air strikes and try to build an international coalition to degrade and eventually destroy the group. […]
On NBC television’s “Meet the Press,” McDonough said Secretary of State John Kerry “over the coming days” will discuss whether any allied nation has pledged ground troops. “And what he has said is that others have suggested that they’re willing to do that,” McDonough said.
Pressed again on possible pledges of combat troops, McDonough seemed slightly less hesitant. “You will hear from Secretary Kerry that countries are saying that they’re ready to do that,” he said.[…]
Kerry cited reports that France is prepared to use air power against the Islamic militants. On Monday, Paris will host international talks seeking a strategy against the militants in Iraq, where they have overrun vast swaths of territory in the country’s north and west.