I think this was just the thing Obama was waiting for… I for one am glad we have a President who is patient and not stupid enough to hop on his war horse and go off galloping like a cowboy the second something doesn’t go his way. I’m glad we’ll really have a coalition of the willing, and that Obama and NATO have finally talked the Arab League into starting to deal with its own regional problems. It’s not the strongest resolution, but it’s a start hopefully.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Arab League agreed Monday to take urgent measures to combat extremists like the Islamic State group as one of its suicide bombers killed 16 people at a meeting of Sunni tribal fighters and security troops in Iraq.

The resolution, issued after late-night meetings of Arab foreign ministers a day earlier, doesn’t explicitly back American military action against the group. U.S. President Barack Obama is seeking an international coalition to challenge the Islamic State group and is expected to outline his plan Wednesday to the American people.

But the resolution, issued as a separate statement from a comprehensive one dealing with Arab affairs, reflected a new sense of urgency among the 22-member states to challenge the militant group that has seized large swaths of territories in Iraq and Syria.

The resolution calls for immediate measures to combat the group on the political, defense, security and legal levels. It didn’t elaborate.

The resolution also backed the United Nations resolution issued last month that imposed sanctions on a number of the group’s fighters and called on countries to adopt measures to combat terrorism. The council resolution was adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, meaning it can be militarily enforced.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected in the region this week to discuss details of the coming U.S. policy.

Mustafa Alani, the director of the security and defense department at the Gulf Research Center in Geneva, said the resolution shows Arab countries remain uncertain about the U.S. policy regarding the Islamic State group. He said they also worry about the U.S. taking a selective approach to handling the issue by choosing to single out Iraq for action but not addressing the turmoil in Syria.

“There will be no signing on a white paper,” Alani said. Arabs are looking for “equal efforts in changing the situation in Syria. Without it, it is a lost war.”

The Islamic State group, which broke away from al-Qaida, has declared a proto-state straddling the border of Iraq and Syria. Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region have been critical of the U.S.’ reluctance of entering the Syrian civil war— in which Iran, a major non-Arab rival to the region, has been a main backer of the government of President Bashar Assad.

The Saudi government said after its weekly Cabinet meeting Monday that it supports the “firm” Arab League position.

More at AP