Britain Should Join Syria Air Strikes; Cameron Tells MPs

British PM David Cameron has written to British MPs saying that it’s about time the UK joins the offensive in Syria.

Britain should join air strikes against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and should not “sub-contract” its security to allies, Prime Minister David Cameron said in a written statement to British MPs.

I believe that we should now take the decision to extend British air strikes against the ISIS into Syria.

David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom

Cameron will formally argue his case for war and the letter comes ahead of his speech in the British Parliement. He said that it was in Britain’s national security interest to strike ISIS jihadists and deny them a “safe haven” in Syria, arguing that the burden should not fall only on Britain’s allies.

It is wrong for the United Kingdom to sub-contract its security to other countries. We have to deny a safe haven to the ISIS in Syria. The longer the ISIS is allowed to grow in Syria, the greater the threat it will pose.

David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom

Cameron is expected to call a vote in parliament on the issue before recess begins on December 17. He has stepped up pressure for MPs to back joining air strikes in Syria after IS claimed responsibility for the November 13 attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people. Cameron on Monday visited Paris, where he met President Francois Hollande and paid tribute outside the Bataclan concert venue, where 90 people were killed.

I firmly support the action President Hollande has taken to strike ISIL in Syria. It’s my firm conviction that Britain should do so too.

David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom

While British forces are taking part in air strikes on IS targets in Iraq, they are not involved in the US-led coalition targeting Syria due to resistance from opposition parties still mindful of previous unpopular interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Labour’s anti-war leader Jeremy Corbyn is against any military action but Cameron appears increasingly confident he can get enough support from Labour MPs to pass the vote, particularly after last week’s UN Security Council resolution authorising countries to “take all necessary measures” against the ISIS.

A Times/YouGov opinion poll last week found that 58 per cent of people approve of Britain joining air strikes in Syria, compared to 22 per cent against. Reports suggest the government could call a vote on the issue next week. Cameron on Monday only said that the vote could come “in the coming days and weeks”.

(With inputs from PTI)