Hesitant Cameron Increasing Involved In Iraq

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky News Reporter

"Bombs and missiles are bad ambassadors. They win no hearts and minds; they can build no democracies. There are more tools of statecraft than military power."

David Cameron, as leader of the opposition in 2006, flash forward to today and the Prime Minister's language seems more strident, the warnings more stark.

"If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.

"We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology."

This as the Bishop of Leeds has accused the government of not having  a "coherent or comprehensive approach to Islamist extremism as it is developing across the globe".

But is this a fair assessment?

The PM meets visits a UK aid Disaster Response Centre at Kemble Airport

It is certainly true, like President Obama, scarred by interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the plan was to withdraw British troops from conflicts and not get involved in more.

After all, defence spending has been cut and the army is on course to be smaller than at any time since the First World War.

All this changed with Benghazi, Libya in 2011 when Britain with France lead airstrikes to stop a massacre and ultimately bring down Colonel Gaddafi.

Two years later and it was Syria; the Prime Minister thought Assad had to go and that meant helping the rebels, a deliberate interventionist strategy, which won round President Obama, only to fall apart in Parliament when it was opposed by Ed Miliband.

Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria - different conflicts with different ends but all interventions the Prime Minister has supported or called for.

An RAF Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft used over Iraq

So why not Iraq this time, given the humanitarian need and the 'poisonous' threat of the Islamic State?

Well, firstly we are involved, not with airstrikes but, increasingly, British military capability is helping to deliver aid or helping with surveillance.

Undoubtedly scarred by the Syria vote last year, and concerns about public opinion, the Prime Minister is more hesitant about joining the Americans in dropping bombs.

But with public opinion so far accepting of intervention, Britain has inch-by-inch, day-by-day been getting more militarily involved.

Given the threat by Islamic State, that is only likely to continue.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Hesitant Cameron Increasing Involved In Iraq

Dengan url

http://kabarkomunitas.blogspot.com/2014/08/hesitant-cameron-increasing-involved-in.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Hesitant Cameron Increasing Involved In Iraq

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Hesitant Cameron Increasing Involved In Iraq

sebagai sumbernya