Photo: Stopwar.org.uk.
Anti-war campaigners challenged British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on July 2 after his call for more air strikes in Syria, warning that the action could fuel Islamic State recruitment.
When the PM obtained Commons approval for the bombing of militant positions last year, he made it clear that this was limited to Iraq.
Fallon confirmed the government would seek Commons approval before conducting air strikes in Syria. But he said: “The exception, as the house knows, is if there was a critical British national interest at stake or the need to act to prevent humanitarian catastrophe.”
But a Stop the War spokesperson warned against military action, saying such actions had only led to more people joining Islamic State.
He said: “The US is already bombing Syria as well as Iraq, with little success. Many argue that this bombing has helped Isis recruit.
“The proposal is in response to the terrible attack in Tunisia last week, but will do nothing to stop further attacks. Support for ISIS in Tunisia has grown in the past two years, largely as a result of the growth of terrorism in neighbouring Libya.
“That in turn dates from the British and French-led bombing of Libya in 2011 which has created a state of civil war, terrorism and misery for its people.”
Campaigns Against Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Kate Hudson said US and British military action in the Middle East and North Africa had been “ill-conceived, leading to death and destruction for innocent civilians, and shattered states — both of which were abandoned by their attackers — where terrorists including ISIS have since been able to organise.
“We bombed ISIS into existence. We can’t bomb them out of existence.”
[Abridged from the Morning Star.]
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