By Michaela Whitton at theantimedia.org
United Kingdom — David Cameron has announced government plans to spend £178 billion on military equipment over the next decade “to defeat the terrorist threat”—while simultaneously attempting to get MPs to agree to a potentially disastrous bombing campaign in Syria. You couldn’t make this up.
After the new priorities for military spending were revealed, Britain’s largest defence companies leapt to the top of the FTSE 100 Index. Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems topped the blue-chip index as the plans to boost the Armed Forces were revealed in The Telegraph.
Cashing in on the recent outpourings of revulsion at the Paris attacks that brought self-appointed caliphate, Daesh (ISIS) to Europe’s doorstep—British politicians have been mercilessly banging the drums of war for intervention in Syria.
The previous call for U.K. military response in Syria, rejected in August 2013, was against President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Now the target is Daesh.
Same war, different excuse.
At least 250,000 people have been killed in the ongoing Syrian conflict. Over half of the country’s pre-war population are either internally displaced or have fled abroad. The U.S. has been bombing Syria for over a year. Since September, France has been alongside them. Other members of last year’s coalition, including Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, have effectively withdrawn from the bombing.
Since Russia’s involvement at the end of September, monitoring groups have reported that their airstrikes have killed over 400 civilians.
Polls conducted in the U.K.’s predominantly right-wing media show the softening up of the British population for war has worked and public support for U.K. airstrikes is overwhelming. In contrast, an independent poll by Survation revealed that 56% of the British public believe that military strikes against Syria by governments around the world have made the U.K. less safe.
The Guardian reported that political opinion has shifted in favour of British involvement and that unanimous support for a U.N security council resolution calling on member states to take all necessary means to eradicate ISIS has changed the mood among MPs.
Campaign group Stop the War has launched a campaign to encourage supporters to lobby their MPs to demand they stand against further military escalation in Syria and prevent another disastrous intervention by using a simple e-tool.
“We must build the same level of opposition now, as Cameron tries yet again to get MPs to agree to a U.K. bombing campaign in Syria, the result of which will only be more chaos, more refugees and increased bitterness against the west,” the group said.
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Prime Minister David Cameron is to be congratulated for saying: ” Britain should join air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria”, After the downing of Russian plane by Turkey, Obama’s strategy in dealing with ISIS is exposed in all its nakedness. Syrian rebels are ISIS terrorists masquerading as Syrian rebels. These so-called rebels are being used as channels to supply arms to ISIS. Quite recently 50 tons of ammunition, including grenades, was airdropped for these proxy rebels. American tanks, arms, vehicles and ammunition supplied earlier to Iraqis are also now with ISIS terrorists. Unless Erdogan is backed by Obama, he won’t have the guts to down the Russian plane. Now Cameron and Hollande should seriously think of chalking out an independent foreign policy ignoring NATO and Obama. That’s the only way to save Britain, France, nay Europe itself from the impending attack of ISIS. Religious affinity has changed the geopolitical landscape of Europe. With Obama’s Islamic orientated foreign policy and Erdogan’s zeal to revive the dead Ottoman Empire have created a common ground for ties with ISIS. Erdogan has been surreptitiously helping ISIS terrorists to transport oil. Muslim Brotherhood men occupy top posts in Washington and the world may not know what all clandestine contacts and deals would have been made by them with Baghdadi, ISIS Caliph.