BOMBING WILL PUT US IN PERIL
Foreign
Secretary Philip Hammond went straight on TV following Wednesday’s vote
in favour of bombing Syria to declare that ‘Britain is safer tonight’.
This
remark was nonsense. Bombing Syria has no immediate effect on Islamic
State’s ability to mount a terrorist attack in Britain or on British
people overseas. In fact, it makes such an attack more likely.
Hammond
was only able to peddle his claptrap to the public thanks to Jon Day,
the little-known civil servant who shortly retires as Chairman of the
Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).
Mr
Day authorised David Cameron to tell MPs that the UK is ‘already in the
top tier of countries that Islamic State is targeting’, allowing the
Prime Minister to insinuate to MPs that the terror threat could not get
any worse.
But
even if this statement were true, it does not support Mr Hammond’s
claim that bombing would make us safer. It would simply imply that
Britain was in no extra danger from the bombing of Syria. In fact, Mr
Cameron’s statement that attacking our enemy in Syria would not increase
the danger on these shores was thoroughly disingenuous. This can be
seen by study of the ISIS statement claiming responsibility for the
Paris atrocities.
It
warned that the French would remain a terror target as long as they
were ‘striking the Muslims in the land of the Caliphate with their
planes’. In short — there is a very direct link between the terror
threat and attacks on Islamic State.
It goes without saying that no government pursuing principled aims should ever be deterred by fear of terrorist reprisal.
But
it would have been much better if David Cameron and his ministers had
candidly and honestly told the British people about the risks they face
from the policy which has been chosen by their government.
They
should have shown some trust in the British people to meet the
standards of fortitude and endurance they have always shown in the past.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3346949/PETER-OBORNE-one-winner-Syria-vote-wasn-t-Dave-Hilary-Benn.html#ixzz3tQ7SsiQ3
Comments
Post a Comment