Within an hour of Wednesday night’s Commons vote authorising military action, the first Tornado GR4 fighter bombers were in the air heading for an IS-controlled oil field in eastern Syria.
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Typhoon jets have left Scotland for Syria, with a total of six jets based at RAF Lossiemouth being sent out on Thursday morning.
The decision – after months of wrangling, hand-wringing, and more than 10 hours of parliamentary debate – underscored the concerted efforts of Prime Minister David Cameron to restore Britain’s reputation as a serious global actor.
“We look forward to having British forces flying with the coalition over Syria, and will work to integrate them into our “coalition air tasking orders” as quickly as possible”, President Obama said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Whether it’s the lack of strategy worth the name, the absence of credible ground troops, the failure to address the impact of the terrorist threat, or the refugee crisis and civilian casualties, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the PM’s proposals for military action simply don’t stack up”, he said.
“We have got the right to say “no”, but if in the future, God forbid, we get hit and we need their help, why should they help us if we didn’t help them?”
Outside the Commons, thousands protested against air strikes at a Stop the War demonstration.
Four Tornados from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus took part in the operation, which targeted the Omar oil fields in eastern Syria, which is under IS control.
But experts question how much Britain, which has been wary of joining foreign conflicts in recent years after unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would add to the campaign against IS in Syria.
British Prime Minister David Cameron leaves 10 Downing Street in central London on December 2, 2015 …
Mr Cameron said that he welcomed the strong support across Parliament with MPs from six different parties backing “this necessary action”.
Russia is also conducting its own air strikes on Syria in alliance with Syrian forces and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies there should now be a single coalition to improve the “effectiveness” of the air campaign.
Speaking after the first strikes, Mr Cameron said: “I think it’s good for the country”.
About his decision to vote against, Mr McPartland said: “The last Parliament saw a awful day for democracy when the Labour Party tried to create political capital out of the suffering of innocent children, women and men in Syria”.
Russian Federation is also bombing Syria outside the U.S.-led coalition.
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Major General Chip Chapman, a former head of counter-terrorism at the MoD, told Sky News the RAF raids were part of Tidal Wave II – a mission to “absolutely smash eight oilfields in that part of Syria to ensure that $500m of wealth doesn’t go into IS’ pockets”. “It is complex, it is hard what we are asking our pilots to do, and our thoughts should be with them and their families”, he said. The MP for Leeds Central made an impassioned plea for his Labour colleagues to back military action, comparing the action against IS to those who joined the International Brigades against Franco, and the House’s united action against Hitler and Nazi Germany.
