Obama Tackles ISIS, Ebola and a Nuclear Iran at U.N. General Assembly

NEW YORK – International leaders convene here this week for high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, in a summit likely to be dominated by discussions of the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State group. The gathering also comes at a time when a multitude of crises offer challenges throughout the world, from the threat posed by the Islamic terrorists in the Middle East to the Ebola outbreak in Africa to the ongoing tension between Ukraine and Russia.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday and Secretary of State John Kerry has a marathon of bilateral meetings planned throughout the week. He met Tuesday with officials from Iraq, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf state leaders, and will continue similar such talks throughout the week.

Kerry spent the past several weeks putting together an international coalition to fight the Islamic State group, particularly requesting assistance from other Middle Eastern countries. The United States sought support from neighbors in the region to lend legitimacy to its efforts, and counted participation in Monday’s strikes by Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as a success. Obama will chair a Security Council meeting Wednesday aimed at stemming the flow of foreign fighters joining the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

In addition to addressing Middle East security concerns, Kerry is focusing on this week’s U.N. Climate Summit. In remarks at the opening event of NYC Climate Week, the secretary of state said it is “absolutely imperative” the world act now to curb the impact of climate change.

“[I]t is about time that world leaders come to the United Nations to recognize this threat in the way that it requires and demands, and it gives me hope that this global summit may actually produce the leadership that is necessary to try to come together and move the needle,” Kerry said, cautioning that time is running short to head off disastrous outcomes.

The Ebola outbreak in Africa will also be a much-discussed topic at the summit, with concerns over the ongoing crisis – and how to cope with it – only growing. The Security Council passed a resolution last week to address the spread of the deadly disease, calling it an “international peace and security threat.” The resolution specifically asked the governments of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to accelerate their responses to the spread of the disease. It also called on all U.N. member nations to provide urgent assistance in the form of field hospitals with qualified staff and supplies.

“Ebola is an exponential crisis that demands an exceptional global response,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a press conference last Tuesday. “We need isolation of people affected by Ebola – not of nations struggling to cope with it.”

There could be 1.4 million Ebola cases by Jan. 20, 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday, if the current trajectory in Sierra Leone and Liberia continues.

The gathering of world leaders will also feature supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who the U.S. has condemned for employing chemical weapons against his own people during the civil war currently raging in his country.

Iran, an Assad ally, called Tuesday’s U.S.-led strikes in Syria illegal. And while Iran and the United States both oppose the Islamic State group, both have claimed the two nations will not coordinate efforts against the extremists.

But, proving the complicated nature of the global political landscape, Iran and the U.S. are expected to continue their nuclear talks. Kerry met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday, and state department officials said there will be other such meetings throughout the week aimed at furthering negotiations. The United States and five other nations hope to complete an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program by Nov. 24, with a goal of Iran restricting its nuclear activities in exchange for reduced sanctions.

Russia, another supporter of Assad, is likely to keep a low profile in New York, as these other issues direct unwanted attention away from its advances into Ukrainian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the general assembly, but the Kremlin will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A cease-fire between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces appears to be holding in the eastern portion of Ukraine as Russia continues to deny it has any official involvement in the conflict.

With all of these other distractions, the United States has spent little attention publicly trying to deter Venezuela’s bid for a Security Council seat, which if successful, could lead to more headaches for the U.S. Venezuela is running unopposed for the Latin American and Caribbean group seat, meaning the ally of Russia and Iran would be able to thwart American initiatives on the Security Council. The nation and its former President Cesar Chavez sought a seat in 2006, but the United States successfully campaigned to prevent the South American country from acquiring one.

By Teresa Welsh