MPs debate bombing Syria

“The question is this – do we work with our allies to degrade and destroy this threat and do we go after these terrorists in their heartlands from where they are plotting to kill British people, or do we sit back and wait for them?”

Noting that IS “poses a direct threat” to Britain, the motion said it “supports Her Majesty’s government in taking military action, specifically airstrikes, exclusively against IS in Syria”.

Cameron said that the attacks on Paris last month had shown the extent to which terrorism was being directed from within Syria.

“It’s about politics and diplomacy and the humanitarian aid, all of which we need to bring to bear to bring peace to Syria but to make sure we protect our national interest of fighting against this appalling terrorist organisation”, the prime minister said.

It also says that the increased military action is legal in line with the United Nations charter.

That has sparked a backlash, particularly in the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, opposes any expansion of the military role.

A NORTH Somerset MP has spoken in favour of Syria airstrikes during a debate in Parliament today (Wednesday).

But the November 13 attacks on Paris that killed 130 people have stiffened the resolve of some lawmakers and divided the opposition Labour Party, convincing Cameron he could win the support of parliament for extending air strikes beyond Iraq.

He accused the PM of having “avoided spelling out to the British people the warnings he has surely been given about the likely impact of British airstrikes in Syria on the threat of terrorist attacks in the UK” or civilian deaths in Syria.

Julian Lewis, Conservative chairman of the Commons Defence Committee and a critic of extending air strikes, said the government was in denial about the effectiveness of bombing without deploying viable ground troops.

The British debate comes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members were ready to step up military efforts against the Islamic State _ and held out hope of improved cooperation between the West and Russian Federation to end Syria’s protracted civil war.

“There’s honor in voting for, there’s honor in voting against”.

“The spectre of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya… looms over this debate”.

If MPs support Cameron, as expected, British air strikes could be launched from a military base in Cyprus within hours of the vote. Many lawmakers came to regret supporting the war and ensuing chaos, and blamed then-Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair for lacking a plan for post-war reconstruction.

In a pointed message to his own MPs, he said ” the rejection of 14 years of disastrous wars in the wider Middle East was a central pillar of the platform on which I was elected Labour leader. “It’s hard-headed common sense”, he said.

But Peter notes that “support for joining the air campaign against ISIS in Syria as well as Irag is growing, and the government sounds confident about being able to order the strikes to begin in a matter of days”.