Why I will vote NO on Friday

 

Iraq/Syria nightmare is horrific with a barbarism that few expected to witness again. America, in the absence of action from the UN, is undertaking its role as a world policeman. They have sacrificed more of their sons and daughters to the cause of democracy in other countries, than any other nation in the world.

The Commons is again being asked the wrong questions. It is not whether ISIL should be attacked. That will happen with US plus Muslim states. The question is should UK be involved?

Another West/Christian attack on an Eastern/Muslim group will deepen the division between the two opposing worlds. ISIL tactics aim to provoke Western retaliation in order to initiate world conflict. 

Continuing the asymmetric conflict between hi-tech Western air power on groups defenceless against these sophisticated weapons will increase their only choice of retaliation by terrorism.

The Iraq War aimed to destroy the terrorist threat in 2003. Then it was minor. Now barbaric Jihadist groups are committing atrocities in Somalia, Nigeria, Algeria, Kenya, Pakistan and the Yemen. Air war against ISIL in Iraq/Syria offers only partial solution and could intensify Jihadist terrorism elsewhere.

The UK is trapped by a 19th century illusion that Britannia rules the world. Punching above our weight means dying beyond our responsibilities. Blood price of 632 UK deaths and £40 billion cost of Iraq/Afghanistan wars was too much to pay for politicians' vanity.

The UK should act independently and not be dominated by decisions of the US or any other Government.

Seduction of young British Muslims, born and educated here, into the horrors of Jihadism by internet propaganda that creates twisted idealism, is the greatest threat to the UK. Our involvement in the air attack will strengthen the mythology of the Jihadists and recruit more UK volunteers to their cause.

The US and a dozen other countries including Muslim ones, plus Assad’s Syria are attacking ISIL. They will eventually defeat them after it becomes a ground war. The vote on Friday is whether the UK orders its forces to join them. Why should we? 

Since the Vietnam War we have been in lockstep with the USA on wars. Credit is due to Harold Wilson for keeping our combat troops out of Vietnam's hopeless war. He avoided the deaths of thousands of British soldiers. Since then we have stopped behaving as an independent country – until August 29^th last year. The votes of backbench MPs stopped David Cameron from charging into Syria all guns blazing against Assad and allied with Free Syria Army, ISIL and the Al Nusra Front. Now he asked the Commons to ally ourselves with Assad to defeat ISIL. What a difference a year makes.

Many countries including Canada and the Netherlands pulled out of the Afghan war as casualties became indefensible. We continued because our policies were determined in Washington. We have already lost the lives of 632 UK soldiers and spent £50 billion in the two wars that created the present situation in Iraq and left the Taliban strong in Afghanistan. I voted or spoke against both. They were the best decisions of my political life. 

We are a small country but the 4th highest spender on defence in the world. The result is that we spend beyond our interests and die beyond our responsibilities. It’s time we escaped from infantile policies that believe we can win hearts and minds with bombs and bullets.

This is not a question of being wise before the event. In late March 2003, I wrote to Tony Blair PM about Iraq:

“Our involvement in Bush’s war will increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks. Attacking a Muslim state without achieving a fair settlement of the Palestine–Israeli situation is an affront to Muslims, from our local mosques to the far-flung corners of the world. A pre-emptive attack of the kind we have made on Iraq will only deepen the sense of grievance among Muslims that the Western/Christian/Jewish world is out to oppress them. This will provide a propaganda victory to Osama Bin Laden and can only increase his support and the likelihood of more acts of terrorism.

In the Commons you repeated that it is an article of faith to you that Britain and the USA should have a common foreign policy. Fine when there is an American President such as Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Carter or Clinton: disastrous when it is a right wing fundamentalist Republican such as Bush." 

Tony Blair still does not recognize that his untruths in 2003 persuaded the Commons to vote for a war which deepened the divide between West and East and between Christian and Muslim. That deep sense of injustice convinces some Muslims, born and educated in the UK, to volunteer to join ISIL and commit acts of mediaeval barbarism.

When the war drums are beating, party leaders change their personalities. Prime Ministers talk in a different way. They dust down the Churchillian rhetoric and boom out the war jargon. They walk in a different way and strut like petty Napoleons. This is their great chance to write their page in history. Sadly, it’s usually a bloody page with our soldiers making the sacrifices. As in all wars, politicians lie and soldiers die. Only now are we learning the full truth on the political horse trading and vanities that led to the deaths of 16 million people in WWI.

I am not a pacifist and I believe that WWII was justified, so was the attack on Idi Amin and the Sierra Leone and Kosovo UK involvement. Our military are brilliant on humanitarian missions. That’s where we should concentrate our strengths. We can achieve great things in the Middle East without joining in another war.

That is why I will be voting against the Government’s motion on Friday.

Comments

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks Bernard. Greatly appreciate that. The great majority of messages I received were supportive.

[Bernard Tyson]

just a note to say that this constituent supports your action in not voting foe more wars , thank you Paul

[Paul Flynn]

Thanks DanB, yes, I fully understand the horror that everyone feels about ISIL who certainly are beyond the pale. Other groups in Nigeria, kenya and Somalia also behave outrageously. All seize on what appears to be an instant solution. Its unlikely to be until we understand the reasons for ISILs hatred. But we were told that the Iraq War was an attack on terrorism. It did not work out that way and terrorism was given encouragement by boosting the sense of grievance that fuels the anger of so many Muslims worldwide. I am horrified with each case of twisted idealism of UK muslims who have volunteered to fight in Iraq. The UK has paid a very high price. Its time that we missed out on a war. Last year I argued against a UK incursion. The House agreed. This time the House will probably go ahead but they should hear the arguments for
past failure/

Paul Flynn

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Its the problem of how to contain the blowback of a grassroots insurgency rather than marching into a battle.

Is making peace not to be preferred to a long drawn out tragic campaign of trying to eradicate an ideology? A wellspring of righteous grievence which only gets deeper over time.

It IS an ideological struggle and the US government and its supporters have been playing from a safe place where they have not payed a fraction of the price that Iraqis and Syrians have.

This is what previous governments have begotten us. Warfare is all to often their only answer. What will it accomplish? Has nothing been learnt during these last years?

ISIS are not going to go away. Upping the stakes and the rhetoric while dropping bombs seems to be the governments only (counter-productive) idea. They ARE criminals but only because they have been cornered and lost everything to the maniacal Bush and Blair and everything the stand for.

I realise this is easy to say when cities are being abandoned. But at the end of the day its the incompetence (at best) of US/UK leaders that has caused this.

[Dan B]

I am a constituent and this does not represent my position.

Our foreign policy may be too closely linked to that of our American allies but sometimes an issue should be judged on its own merits. ISIL have clearly demonstrated that they operate outside the normal moral parameters of civilised society and is widely condemned by the western and moderate Muslim world.

I can see no logical reason for not working in a broad coalition, which is very different from the neo conservative American driven intervention in Iraq. I urge you to reconsider and sample the electorate your serve for their views as everyone I come across is in the vast majority in support.