The well-financed terrorist organization, which orchestrated a sophisticated attack on Paris last month, seeks to strike the West “because of who we are”, Cameron said, “not because of what we do”.
Advertisement
US President Barack Obama hailed a vote Wednesday (Dec 2) by British lawmakers to join the air campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria.
The votes followed a highly charged Commons debate lasting more than 10 hours, in which the Prime Minister stressed the threat posed by the extremists, whom he branded “woman-raping, Muslim-murdering, medieval monsters”.
Mr Hammond conceded the moderates were not a homogeneous group but insisted they were “all pointing their guns in the same direction”.
The powerful address, which Tory foreign secretary Philip Hammond hailed as “one of the great speeches to be given in this House of Commons” drew applause from members on all sides of the chamber.
He told Channel 4 news: “Probably not tonight but it could be tomorrow night”.
Royal Air Force Tornado fighter jets took off from a British air base in Cyprus, struck targets in Syria, and returned safely to the base, British defense officials said early Thursday.
“We need to stop bombing innocent countries”, said one demonstrator, Theresa Gormley. “Our planes are carrying weapons over Syria into Iraq, so it would be a relatively simple exercise to extend the permissions to allow them to release those weapons over Syria where they identify legitimate targets”.
Hundreds joined anti-war marches in Bristol while protesters were also in Parliament Square to air their views.
According to research conducted by the BBC, of the 640 MPs expected to vote, up to 362 MPs are in favour of supporting the motion while 175 are against, making it likely that Cameron will launch bombing missions in Syria within days if he wins the vote.
While Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn fiercely opposed military intervention, 67 Labour MPs, including shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, reportedly voted in favour of the bombing raids.
He told MPs in the House of Commons tonight: “Daesh are an evil force that must be overcome but I’m not yet convinced that what is being proposed will achieve that”.
“What was really important about the vote last night was that it confirmed that Britain is a serious ally”, said Mr Fallon.
But well known figures in Labour argued against Mr Corbyn’s position including the former ministers Yvette Cooper, Margaret Beckett and Alan Johnson. The free vote means Labour MPs were not ordered to vote with the leadership.
Reacting to the vote, aides to Mr Corbyn said a majority of the shadow cabinet had backed his position and his authority had been “enhanced”.
He said the vote is “further evidence of the strength of our coalition, and the enduring importance of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom”.
Advertisement
Prime Minister Cameron has long wanted to expand Britain’s role in the U.S.-led anti-IS coalition.
