Whelp, back to Iraq we go. This time with a touch more Gulf support. Bobby Ghosh took a look at how useful Arab militaries will actually be in the fight against the group formerly known as ISIS:

• The highest ranking military among the Gulf States belongs to Saudi Arabia which, somewhat surprisingly, is roughly as good as the Syrian military.
• Given that Syria, too, has struggled against ISIS, it’s unclear how effective Saudi Arabia will be against the terrorist group.
• While other countries in the region spend a lot on their militaries, they have very little combat experience, making their use questionable.
• This is largely because the purpose of the militaries in the oil soaked region isn’t to fight wars – it is to protect the monarchy and other sections of the elite.
• The country with the most fighting experience is Yemen which has been combating its own urgency. It is also the poorest Gulf country.

Read more about the relative military prowess of various Gulf States, as well as how Middle Eastern states outside the Gulf will fare in the return to Iraq over here.

Source: Quartz