Jordan will supply intelligence services. Turkey will make it harder for would-be jihadis to cross its borders with Syria and Iraq (the route by which most Isis foreign recruits have travelled), but it will not let the US use Turkish air bases for military operations. Egypt murmurs words of encouragement but makes no specific commitments.
Almost all the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait included, have promised to stop the large flow of donations from wealthy individuals to the various jihadi outfits in Syria (including, at least until recently, Isis). The United Arab Emirates reportedly even offered to carry out air strikes against Isis. But it's hardly a mass mobilisation and it doesn't involve any "boots on the ground".
There are plenty of boots available if Washington wants them but they are on the wrong feet. The Syrian army has been fighting the jihadis for almost three years now and, after initial losses, it has managed to hold its own against them everywhere except in eastern Syria. Elsewhere, it has actually been gaining back ground for more than a year now.
Then there is Iran, a big, industrialised country whose armed forces do know how to fight. Iran provided the key support for the local Shia militias that stopped Isis from sweeping into Baghdad last (northern) summer and it has been providing indispensable support to the Syrian government for years.
But Washington has not asked these major players to join its new coalition. Indeed, it has invited everybody in the Middle East to join except those who are actually willing to fight Isis on the ground. How peculiar. Maybe a rebuilt Iraqi Army can drive Isis out of Iraq eventually, although Isis has lots of local support in the Sunni Arab parts of Iraq. But where does Obama think the troops will come from to drive Isis back in its Syrian heartland?
His only answer is to build a new "Free Syrian Army" composed of "moderates" who will fight on two fronts, defeating Isis while also overthrowing Assad. But that's ridiculous, since the old FSA has almost all been absorbed into the various jihadi groups in Syria. There is nothing left to build on.
For added comic effect, this new Free Syrian Army will be trained in Saudi Arabia, the principal supporter and paymaster of those same jihadi groups until Isis scared it into hedging its bets. One is tempted to think that Obama is not really all that worried about Isis as a strategic threat. One is further tempted to speculate that he has learned not to care too much about what happens in the Middle East any more.
Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
