As expected, the British parliament gave Prime Minister David Cameron the go-ahead to expand the UK’s military operations against the Islamic state (ISIS) from Iraq into Syria.
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In a statement Thursday, French President Francois Hollande said the British vote to begin airstrikes in Syria and the upcoming German vote were a sign that Europeans would stand together after IS attacks that killed 130 people and left hundreds wounded in Paris.
According to the British defense ministry, four RAF Tornados were deployed from Akrotiri air base in Cyprus soon after the vote, and targeted the Omar oilfield in eastern Syria.
British Tornados based in Cyprus carried out their first air strikes against the terror group Islamic State (IS) in Syria just hours after Westminster voted to approve the action.
He also said he was deeply concerned about some of the “bullying” of Labour MPs looking to defy their leader Jeremy Corbyn, who allowed his party a free vote but was against it personally.
Following the green light from lawmakers Wednesday for strikes on Syria, a total of 16 Royal Air Force warplanes will be available to bomb Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria.
Victoria Atkins said that the decision to support the motion was “one of the most hard decisions I will ever have to take as your Member of Parliament”, adding that she was particularly mindful of the strong links between her constituency and the RAF.
During the debate, the government also faced a string of questions about whether joining the worldwide military action on Syria could make Britain more vulnerable to attacks from IS. A military source said: “We are going after the head of the snake but it’s also about going after its wallet”.
A Tornado jet takes off from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, as RAF Tornado jets carried out the first British bombing runs over Syria.
Those splits were emphasized in the 10 1/2-hour debate as a former Labour home secretary, Alan Johnson, attacked the “self- righteous certitude” and “finger-jabbing” of Corbyn’s supporters.
“We have come to the aid of France and responded to the call of the United Nations”, said Mr Fallon.
From the passionate speeches in the House to the anti-war protesters outside Parliament, the debate recalled Britain’s divisive 2003 decision to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on what turned out to be false claims about Iraq’s former leader Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction.
“It will not make a big operational difference”, said Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute, a research organization specializing in security.
“Cutting off their finances is extremely important to degrading the terrorists, to undermining their campaign in Iraq, and to shrink their operations in eastern Syria”. Domestically, it further bolstered the prime minister as he confronts an opposition that is divided.
The talks set a fixed calendar for a ceasefire followed by a transitional government in six months and elections one year later. “Without addressing the Assad regime’s indiscriminate aerial bombardments, we will not be able to convince Syrian moderate opposition forces to cooperate with us in our fight against IS”.
The move comes after the Parliament had initially rejected military action in Syria in a 2013.
The last major attack on British soil was the July 7, 2005 bombings in which 52 people died.
Cameron said this figure showed it was right to take immediate action.
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Laying a rose at the venue which he said symbolised people’s right – which must be protected – to “have fun and enjoy themselves”, he said he did not think the Commons vote increased the risk to London because it had already been a target of plots by jihadis who must be dealt with.
