BY ANGELA DANIELS
Four British Tornado jets took off in the early hours of yesterday, from Akrotiri in Cyprus, to launch Uk’s first Air Strikes in Syria, against ISIS. This followed a dramatic, ten hour debate in the House of Commons, while protesters waited outside in suspense. The 800 or so, year old British Parliamentary system displayed excellent maturity that is unique to Britain. Three hundred and ninety-four (394) MPs voted for the motion, and two hundred and twenty-three (223) against. Sixty-seven of the votes which gave the Prime Minister the decisive mandate came from Labour, the Opposition Party.
Fears that a third of Labour MPs elected a different stance to their Leader is indicative of a split in the party, may be unjustified. Corbyn had wisely given his MPs a free vote, meaning that they were allowed to vote from their own conscience, rather than following the party’s policy.
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But Corbyn’s countenance was a picture of grave dismay. Hilary Benn stood up and set out a compelling argument in favour of the motion, so passionately and impressively that Corbyn must have dreaded the impact even on his own MPs, to whom Benn turned and pleaded to vote for the motion.
VICTORY
The clear victory for Cameron has enabled Britain to make her ‘moral contribution’ to the Coalition, as someone put it. America was already bombing ISIS in Syria, and France, promptly reacting to the recent barbaric Paris attack was also doing the same, and had called on Britain, to join in. The United Nations resolution had also called for action, saying it is legal and justified. Against this backdrop of climaxing political agitation over ISIS, Britain has had to take her position to stand and be counted.
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Over the years, France has been no stranger to numerous attacks, shootings or bomb attacks by various groups and individuals since the 1800s right through the 20th century- into most years of the 1970s and 1980s. And since 1994, there has been not less than 11 incidents, by Islamic extremists. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the recent descent on Paris will not be re- played. We should all sincerely hope there is no repetition of the one hundred and thirty people brutally killed so mercilessly. Britain and others may have reacted to the sheer numbers of the dead, but even one life lost, is one too many. It came too close to home and could have been a wake-up call.
INTELLIGENCE
But, it is really no wake-up call. Britain has not been lukewarm to the issue of Islamic extremists within the UK. Intelligence here has been very active. With or without the recent Paris attacks, everyone already knew Britain was in potential danger of ISIS attacks. It has since come to light, via European Intelligence that ISIS is ready to strike again, and Britain is suspected to be the next target. David Cameron said last month that there had been no less than seven foiled terror attacks in Britain, in the last year. British Intelligence is renowned- among the very best in the world.
Despite alerts following the fatal attacks in Paris, some were against Air strikes, regardless. Concerns about the possibility of resulting civilians casualties and deaths in Syria abound. Well, the RAF are known for precision. Trepidation about the sheer notion of war is an understandable reason for caution. Credit to our principled, kind-hearted Brits. Memories of Iraq still jangling, especially as British air strikes are on going in that sector. Tony Blair and 2003 in Iraq should be put in perspective. Put mildly, that was a dreadful error, which must not be repeated. But it cannot become an all- time blanket for every new situation.
CONSCIENCE
The claim by some MPs that they voted for Air Strikes from their conscience was credible. Others expressed fears that if Britain failed to attack on these escalating rounds of action in the Middle-East, ISIS could make Britain their next target. The annoying problem is that the Coalition and the UN are often too slow and generally ineffective in addressing these serious issues when they arise, until they have earned an image of impotence. If countries like Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, China and Turkey would act with blatant impunity, against the stand point of the international community in various matters including Human Rights issues, it cannot be surprising that ISIS see the UN as a toothless, giant body, that takes ages even to bark. There are reasons.
The West to its discredit pick their fights where the scales tilt to their interests. Great oil wells, exports of arms and ammunition, valuable influence …It may occasionally be humanitarian too, when very many have already lost their lives. It can be argued that Britain should have acted long before now, including protecting the innocent civilians in Syria. Nevertheless, there probably is a pressing need for Britain to act now and avert the potential terror that could precipitate sorrow in the hearts of many unsuspecting families.Those who want Britain away from war zones at any cost should think again. Sometimes defense must take the form of attack. The one hope and concern is that it such attack does not exacerbate an already very tense situation.
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