Britain has been a part of the U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq, but Cameron has failed to gain enough support to send forces to Syria on the same mission.
The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee highlighted the need to focus on finding a political solution to Syria's crisis and said British airstrikes could both hurt that effort and the country's standing in possible negotiations.
"We consider that the focus on the extension of airstrikes against ISIL (Islamic State) in Syria is a distraction from the much bigger and more important task of finding a resolution to the conflict in Syria and thereby removing one of the main facilitator's of ISIL's rise," the committee said.
The report also stressed the need for "a coherent international strategy that has a realistic chance" of defeating the militants and ending the civil war that has persisted in Syria since March 2011.
- On the legality of operating in Syria, the committee noted that while Iraq invited coalition airstrikes to back its beleaguered forces, Syria has only explicitly allowed Russia to fly in its airspace.
Russia began its Syrian operations in late September, something the report said has only further complicated a conflict with no shortage of players and "appeared to limit the options available to others."
In 2013, British lawmakers rejected the government's proposal to launch airstrikes in Syria, and Tuesday's report recommends it not try again without answering a total of seven questions. Those include identifying what ground troops would seize and hold any territory captured from Islamic State militants.
Cameron said during a July interview with NBC's Meet The Press that Britain was committed to defeating the militants in both Iraq and Syria, but would not expand into Syria without the backing of parliament.
"I want Britain to do more," he said. "I'll always have to take my parliament with me."
In Iraq, Britain and the U.S. have been joined by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan and the Netherlands in conducting more than 5,000 airstrikes since August 2014. In Syria, the operation began a month later and has included about 2,700 airstrikes from the U.S., Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The result has been limited progress in both countries, with government forces, pro-government fighters and Kurdish forces taking back some territory from the Islamic State group, but with the militants still controlling major cities and other areas in Iraq and Syria.
voanews.com
3/11/15
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London is expected to launch an aerial campaign against the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group in Syria after the Parliament reaches a consensus on this issue, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday...
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday, The Times newspaper reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron scrapped plans for UK airstrikes against the extremists in Syria after failing to get support for the campaign from the opposition Labour Party. A Downing Street representative denied the reports.
“When we think that it is right to do so, when we are confident it is a consensus in the House of Commons [on the campaign against ISIL in Syria] we will go [back] to the House of Commons [with the plans of campaign],” Hammond told in an interview with BBC.
He added that this consensus could be reached after enough Labour members of parliament back the campaign.
The United Kingdom is part of an international coalition of more than 60 countries, including the United States and European nations, working together to dismantle and destroy ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
The United Kingdom has been carrying out airstrikes as part of a US-led coalition against ISIL in Iraq since August 2014, but did not extend the air campaign to Syria.
Earlier in the day, UK Chief of the Defense Staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton said that Britain is letting down its allies by not participating in the anti-ISIL airstrikes in Syria.-
(Sputnik)
8/11/15
Cameron pedirá permiso al Parlamento para bombardear al EI en Siria...
ReplyDeleteEl primer ministro británico, David Cameron, anunció que volverá a pedir al Parlamento del país permiso para que la aviación del país se sume a la operación contra el Estado Islámico (EI) en Siria.
"Plantearé esta cuestión (la participación británica en los bombardeos contra el EI en Siria)", dijo en declaraciones a la emisora BBC.
El primer ministro argumentó que "el EI no reconoce la frontera entre Irak y Siria y nosotros tampoco deberíamos hacerlo".
Al mismo tiempo, Cameron dijo que la votación en el Parlamento no se celebrará mientras el Gobierno no se asegure los apoyos necesarios entre los legisladores.
"El fracaso sería perjudicial, pero no se trata de perjudicar al Gobierno, sino es una cuestión de no perjudicar a nuestro país y su reputación en el mundo", sostuvo.
El Reino Unido participa actualmente en las operaciones de la coalición internacional liderada por EEUU en Irak, pero en 2013 el Parlamento británico denegó el permiso para una operación similar en Siria........http://mundo.sputniknews.com/orientemedio/20151116/1053690624/cameron-permiso-bombardeo-siria.html#ixzz3reMolDtV
16/11/15