News Analysis: Joint Arab forces "crucial" amid Islamic militancy threats

The need for a joint Arab military forces is growing every day as the region faces threats of the Islamic militancy, according to security experts.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reiterated in different occasions "the need for a unified Arab force which has become more pressing.''

Sisi's call for forming the forces was the first by an Arab leader, but he gave no details and did not say whether any concrete steps have been taken.

According to Nabil Abdel-Fattah, professor of strategic sciences with the Military Academy, "there is no alternative to joint Arab forces to defend the security of our countries."

Sisi firstly called for united forces when Egypt's troops swooped across the border to bomb Derna, a hotbed of jihadists in Libya's east, after the Islamic State (IS) beheaded 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya last month.

Yet, the airstrikes will do little to control the widening insecurity and extremism that threaten Libya and its neighbors, Abdel-Fattah told Xinhua.

He added that in addition to the military chaos in Libya, the region has turned into spots for Islamic radicalism, like the IS in Iraq and Syria and Houthis in Yemen, which eventually threat the Gulf Arab states.

"It is crucial now for Arabs in light of dangers and threat to act as one army," the expert added.

In an interview with the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, President Sisi said "I think Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan agree to the move (forming joint forces) as we are in dire need of carrying out this initiative at time."

Backing Sisi's stance, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayry told private Hayyat satellite on Friday that his country welcomes the idea that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan would stand in support of it.

Also, King Abdullah II of Jordon, during his visit to Egypt last week, hailed the move.

Abdel-Fattah lamented that a Joint Arab Agreement has been frozen since it was signed in 1950. For only once, that agreement has been activated during the war of liberating Kuwait of the Iraqi invasion in 1991, he noted.

He pointed out that hopes are currently pinned on forces of Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Jordon and some Gulf countries after most of the Arab armies like in Iraq, Syria and Libya have been undermined or dismantled.

He added that "reviving" the formation of joint Arab forces "is possible" under the umbrella of the Arab League, only when the Arabs are "willing."

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said Monday he will consult with the Arab leaders, during the upcoming Arab summit, set for March 28-29 in Sharm el-Sheikh, on the "need for forming Arab forces to fight terrorism."

Meanwhile, a diplomatic source told Saudi-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, following President Sisi's visit to the kingdom Sunday, that Egypt will present a draft, during the summit, for establishing joint Arab forces to face the security hazards in the region.

The source pointed out that there are positive indications to support the draft, by influential Arab countries, especially amid the "limited results" of the military operations carried out by an international U.S.-led coalition to fight terrorism.

The U.S. is pushing for forming forces to combat the IS, while being reluctant to interfere in Libya to fight the same enemy, the expert said, but he sees it will not oppose Arab forces to fight terrorism.

Talaat Musalam, another security expert, agreed with Abdel-Fattah that "the threats and pressures that Egypt and Arab countries are experiencing would be a motivation for forming joint anti-terrorism forces."

Some countries could not face the threats alone over the lack of weapons, Musalam said, arguing that predicting most of the countries will tend to form forces and launch "a joint operation" currently.

The Arab countries have either to form a limited force or activate the idle joint defense treaty, he made it clear. Endit