CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

'NO HURRY INTO WAR'

'NO HURRY INTO WAR'

Editorial

Daily Star 13 April 2018

It looks increasingly likely the Government will intervene in Syria after President Assad's chemical attack.

What's clear is we cannot sit by and watch despicable despots brutalise innocent civilians. And while Britain has understandably pulled back from war in recent years, the current situation calls for a slightly different tack.

Just last month, superpowers around the world backed Britain following the Salisbury spy poisoning. They followed our lead and expelled Russian diplomats in their droves to hurt Putin. It may be time to step up and show our support for our allies.

But all those involved should heed the words of Defence Select Committee chair Julian Lewis MP, who fears striking against Assad could play into the hands of al-Qaeda.

"What we've got here in Syria is a choice,"

he said.

"Monsters on the one hand and maniacs on the other."

Britain's had this choice before. But politicians didn't have enough of a plan for what happened after in Iraq and Afghanistan and we got sucked into a mess.

Let's make sure we've learnt from lessons of the past.

​[For Julian's view of the limited airstrikes undertaken against three targets in Syria, on the night of 14/15 April, see here and here.]