It looks like it will come to parliament for a re discussion. What are people's thoughts on intervention militarily?
These are my meagre efforts.
There is a difference between Iraq and Syria. So I take Syria as a separate issue. Geneva 11 was the sensible approach at the time as our role could only be to faciltate through the UN a concept of a Syrian Nation State with a pluralist democratically representative government without Assad at the top. This was based on the idea that Syria was perhaps the most developed state in the Middle East with high levels of education { do not compare to Europe} and some economic integration. It could have been a candidate for evolving into a democratic nation but that was not a notion taken up by the parties involved at the Un Geneva 11. So that notion isnow dead in the water.
What is left. Division, in my view. And now it has sort of occured through the fighting. Although you could not grace what Isis has formed as a State, {lawless, unjust and very violent} there is one aspect that has emerged, namely tentative borders beteween Alawite, Sunni and Kurdish territories.
I do not support a unilateral Uk intervention in Syria as a gut support to the US actions of containment . Cameron , in my view is being too simplistic . The diplomatic/politica solution has to be firmed up first and that involves States like Jordan and Saudi Arabia to support a Sunni state{ other than Isis}, and reject the concept of removing Assad. This could be done through the UN. Removing Assad from our point of view would be the Arab world manipulating us to participate in what would inevitablely turn into revenge genocide, given how much the human spirit cannot forgive after such a horrible conflict so far. I think the UK should resist the Arab world on this particular issue. It does not condone Assad It simply leaves a feasible solution.
So I think this should all go through the UN and it will need an agreement on borders , A SNCoation, Sunni States, A Russia prepared to abstain , Kurdish involvement, Iran as well.
Possible?
Without these pre conditions, how could military intervention have any positive effect to bring peace to the area. Military action can only be in the service of a feasible political solution. Otherwise it is completely directionless, dangerous, adds misery and has no foreseeable effects- it could be deleterious and unforeseen in it's consequences.Unilateral military involvement would be foolish. We should try the UN first .
