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THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT will hold an extraordinary session on Friday to debate and vote on joining in US-led air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron said today.
Speaking after talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi in New York, Cameron said he was “confident” that members of the House of Commons would authorise Britain to join a coalition conducting air strikes in Iraq.
“There is a direct threat to Britain. There is now a comprehensive strategy in place to defeat them,” he told Sky News from the UN General Assembly.
“What we are doing is legal, it is right, it does not involve British combat troops on the ground but as ever with our country when we are threatened in this way we should not turn away from what needs to be done.”
Moments earlier, Cameron had announced the debate on his official Twitter account:
Cameron will open the discussion on what Downing Street said would be a “substantive motion” in the Commons, and it will be followed by a vote.
The leaders of the other main parties have indicated that they would be willing to support military action in Iraq.
“ISIL is a threat that can’t be ignored,” opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband told the BBC earlier, using one of several names for IS.
He added: “If a proposition comes forward for military action by the United Kingdom, obviously we are open to it and will look at it.”
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrats share power in Cameron’s Conservative-led coalition government, also offered his support.
“There are many people across the country who see what this mediaeval murderous organisation does, slaughtering people regardless of their ethnicity or their religion, an organisation which is actively plotting to do us harm in this country,” Clegg said.
“I think most people across the country want the British government to play our part in ridding the world of this vile threat.”
Cameron made clear however that the debate was confined to air strikes against IS militant bases in Iraq, not in Syria.
Air strikes in Syria are likely to encounter far more opposition, after members of the House of Commons last year voted down Cameron’s request for military action there to help rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
Britain is already providing machine guns and ammunition to Kurdish forces fighting IS jihadists in Iraq.
Six British Tornado jets and a refuelling tanker based in Cyprus have also been carrying out surveillance missions over northern Iraq in recent weeks.
- © AFP 2014.
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I dread to think where this downward spiral will end. I can’t imagine it will be as simple as wiping out IS. It never is.
it will end when they take out assad and do the same in syria as they did in libya.
Andy Poole another Western created blood bath that will not end until Assad’d government is over thrown and thousands of civilians slaughtered by drone and air strikes.
@john fergus. They went into Lybia when it was the richest state in Africa, and had a functioning government. 2 years later Lybia is in turmoil and is a failed state. They should be helping Assad fight ISISrather that trying to oust him. Syria is a melting pot of different religions and was one of the last secular states in the middle east.It wasnt that long ago when Tony Blair had him ear marked for knighthood with Buckingham Palace, and John Kerry and his wife were regular visitors and personal friends of the Assads.
DN Libya was in turmoil through its rebellion long before NATO ousted gadaffi
The UK has been the US most loyal and obedient poodle giving cover to illegal wars of aggression for decades. The US is increasingly desperate and isolated and is now bombing Syria with her only allies being such democratic luminaries as Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc. Cameron got a bloody nose the last time he wanted his country to bend over for Washington in a similar vote which was defeated late last year. It seems the pressure has been reapplied and there is nothing like a few beheadings to help change the lacklustre scepticism emanating from Westminster for the latest US crackpot move. It’s not at all assured the vote will go Cameron’s way. Could be a late night.
Artificially created turmoil through NATO’s regime changing terrorists that were sent in to throw discord and destabilize the Libyan government turning it into the total hell hole that it is now.
We have witnessed the exact same with Assad’s regime over the last three years with US backed head hacking terrorists.
Anything to support that claim? I could post you links all evening thats shows different to what you believe.
Today US air strikes hit a bus and killed countless civilians, but you won’t hear hear about that on western propaganda.
Collateral damage. Nobody cares and rightly so. War is hell
Keep it classy Philip, as always.
Phillip you are the trolliest of trolls …wow
Reminds me of bowling
You set up the pins just to knock them down.
Cameron another stooge like blair….what a bunch of idiots
Last time he asked Parliament for their support he wanted to bomb the Syrian Government in support of ISIS. One year later Cameron has changed sides and is now on the side of the Syrian dictator against ISIS. Who’ll be the target next year?
I think it’s fair to say that the war mongers got it arseways last time. Fools.
To be fair, last year ISIS didn’t exist, they spawned from disenchanted rebels who were forced to join the more extreme branches of the rebellion when the western support didn’t materialise and the radicalised Muslims were the ones with the money and numbers. It may well have been that has Assad been ousted as planned by airstrikes that ISIS would now not be the same force.
At last a sensible comment.
It is so obvious that the end game is to kkill assad and his family amnd destroy the country…..sick fu krrs
And what better way to kill Assad than by attacking his enemies?
Genius.
Better late than never.
Late for what, more lies, air strikes, drone killing and bloodshed.
You’d know it isn’t Ablitive who’s being told to either convert to Islam, pay a hefty tax for being a non-believer or be executed.
The mission is called Operation Iraqi Liberation or OIL for short.
So other countries should just sit by and let ISIS take control through mass murder or innocents?
Iraqi oil is mostly sold to China…
Saudi Arabian government has decapitated more of its own citizens than ISIS have in the last few weeks. Yet Saudi are our allies too?
Looks like their policy of arming the Syrian ‘rebels’ has backfired drastically. It will be strange for the UK pilots to be bombing their own armed forces APC’s(classed as non lethal by Hague – lol).
Horgay, an APC is an Armoured Personnel Carrier ie. a vehicle that has armour that can withstand small-arms fire, not an Armed Personnel Carrier.
There’s only three letters of a difference between “armed” and “armoured” but a world of difference in meaning. I seem to remember pointing this out to you a few months ago but you seem to have conveniently forgotten it.
Demons…..is the only word that comes to mind….and nothing we can do to
stop the cia and the rest of the terror agencies
the world should just let IS prosper and continue their head clipping shenanigans then? is that the answer? no i doubt it very much.
Cameron getting his “black and tans’ ready .. Mind Putin doesn’t knock out your Luftwaffe David
oh the offended ‘BritNATOs’ with their red thumbs down
HERE WE GO , HERE WE GO , HERE WE GOOOO , HERE WE GO
HERE WE GO ,HERE WE GO , HERE WE GO ,HERE WE GOOOOO , HERE WE GO
I have a terrible feeling about all this situation. My friends in Birmingham were telling me yesterday that they were being told to get out if the English aid worker was beheaded. The Daesh are baiting the allies.
Feck the cia and mi6 and mossad evil feckers…….may they all meet a horrible end…….
have your say