Indiana U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly says he wants to make sure all of the country’s foreign partners are standing together.
Senator Donnelly sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee that was part of a bi-partisan Senate delegation to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel. The trip was described as important due to ongoing instability in the Middle East.
Citing what he continually heard on the trip, Donnelly says countries the delegation met with are concerned about threats in the region.
“We wanted to meet to try to make sure that everybody was on the same page in going after terrorism,” says Donnelly. “This is an extraordinarily challenging time. ISIS does not know borders.”
Partnering with ally countries can help address several issues, including threats from groups like Al Qaeda, the Iranian nuclear program, and ongoing conflicts in Syria.
The U.S. delegation participated in talks with top level officials, but according to Donnelly, there were no specific requests for additional U.S. ground troops.
He says Saudi Arabia and Qatar did discuss additional troops to combat terror threats from countries in the region.
“There is an opportunity for American to serve in providing guidance, in providing training, in providing help and planning military missions, but in terms of being part of a combat team, that was not ever discussed,” says Donnelly.
The Senator stated his obligation to keep the country safe.
