“I believe that ISIL-Daesh needs to be confronted”. What is more, almost 3,000 coalition air strikes have already been aimed at Syria and the case for what British air strikes will add is weak.
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Meanwhile Chorley’s Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle, who as deputy speaker is not allowed to vote on the issue tonight, admitted he was opposed to immediate air strikes in Syria.
A total of 66 Labour MPs voted in favour of airstrikes, including deputy leader Tom Watson and shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, whose speech was applauded by members across all sides of the house. “They attack us because of who were are and not what we do”, he said.
“That is why we must act to degrade their capabilities right now, even though there are hard questions to answer about what will follow”.
“It is argued that, after the Iraq War and action in Afghanistan and Libya, intervention can never be successful”. I don’t support military action. So it seems clear that the Prime Minister’s current proposals offer no realistic prospect of ground forces securing territory in and around Raqqa, which will ultimately be necessary to effectively neutralise the Isil threat, both regionally and internationally. Assad is now fighting on several fronts, against Isil, against the Kurds and against other groupings, some of them the “moderates” the PM hopes will help. The war in Syria includes a complex combination of actors. Airstrikes are only one part of our strategy and will not eradicate ISIL on its own – that can only be finally achieved when Syria has a Government representing all of the Syrian people and peace has returned.
He said: “I do not believe that increased bombing without a coherent and comprehensive plan for the immediate aftermath and longer term will serve the goal the Government and others believe it will”.
“Airstrikes will fail to defeat IS if they are not supported by action to cut off funding and supply lines, and they need to be supported by properly armed and led ground troops from countries in the region”, said Mr Reed on his blog. Of course, military action alone will not deal with the threat of ISIL/Daesh. They are engaged in actively radicalising people in Western Europe and they are engaged in planning and preparing terrorist attacks in Western Europe.
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Mr Twigg said he and several colleagues wanted “to take action” but did not feel “a strategy was in place”. That tells me that any action our Government undertakes, including bombing, will be legal. And just as we cannot outsource our defence to our allies in the United States or France, nor too can we outsource our judgement.
