EU refugee crisis: Boris Johnson says London should help as Mayor of Liverpool offers sanctuary to 100 Syrian refugees September 3, 2015 As scenes of refugees making their way from Syria across Europe become more harrowing, the Mayor of London has said the capital should face up to its "moral responsibilities". On the question of whether to take in Syrian refugees in particular, Boris Johnson said London should "take people fleeing persecution and those plainly in fear [...]
Refugee crisis: Where Syria’s four million refugees have fled – how does the UK’s refugee policy measure up? September 3, 2015 The horrifying image of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old child lying drowned on a Mediterranean beach, has jolted the world into higher gear over the growing refugee crisis. As grassroots movements across Europe are launching volunteer campaigns and petitioning politicians to accept more refugees, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is under growing pressure to do more, [...]
David Cameron: “I want Britain to do more” fighting Isis in Syria and Iraq, PM tells NBC’s Meet the Press July 19, 2015 David Cameron has said he wants Britain to do more to help fight Isis in the Middle East and is committed to working with the US to destroy the caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Speaking to NBC News, the Prime Minister said there were discussions taking place in parliament about what more could be done. [...]
The West’s eyes are on Syria – but Islamic State is still winning in Iraq October 26, 2014 There is little doubt that Islamic State’s (IS) siege of Kobani in Syria is a gripping story. Echoing similar narratives to the Alamo and the Boxer Rebellion, a small band of brave and determined “good guys” (in this case the Syrian Kurds) miraculously seem to be holding off hordes of fanatical “bad guys” (IS). Indeed, [...]
Bombing IS in Syria was always going to fail – and Washington knew it all along October 12, 2014 In his magisterial work The Best and the Brightest, David Halberstam makes clear that the essential tragedy of the Vietnam War was US decision-makers’ inability to see beyond the Potomac river in Washington, DC. Every policy debate concerned what would sell in the city’s foreign policy community, rather than what might make sense on the [...]
Why taking on Islamic State in Syria is a recipe for unmitigated disaster September 28, 2014 For all that he is supposed to be a master communicator – and despite the oceans of ink spilled on the subject – I must confess I have no idea what exactly President Obama is trying to do against the Islamic State (IS). The White House talks of degrading and ultimately destroying the militants by [...]
David Cameron won’t rule out UK air strikes in Syria September 11, 2014 The Prime Minister has not ruled out air strikes in Syria against Islamic State (IS) militants, his spokesman confirmed yesterday. The intervention came after foreign secretary Philip Hammond said the UK would definitely not be taking part in any military air action in the country. Speaking in Berlin, Hammond said: “Britain will not be taking [...]
Coalition seeks supporters of military action in Iraq and Syria as strikes on Islamic State considered September 4, 2014 The Conservative party has begun canvassing its MPs to find out if they would support military action in Iraq and Syria, as leaders from all three main parties appeared to be warming towards possible air strikes yesterday. As the Nato summit got underway in Wales, Tory party whips were quizzing MPs to find out how [...]
New terror powers to bar suspect Brits fighting in Iraq and Syria from UK August 31, 2014 Tough new measures to combat the threat posed to the UK by terrorist groups will be announced by David Cameron in parliament today. The Prime Minister is expected to unveil plans to ban British-born jihadists fighting in Iraq and Syria from returning to the UK, in a bid to guard against potential attacks. The announcement [...]
Islamic State in Syria: Obama authorises surveillance flights August 26, 2014 US President Barack Obama has authorised the use of surveillance flights to monitor the activities of Islamic State (IS) in Syria. The news came from a senior US administration official who spoke to the AP news agency on condition of anonymity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Central Command overseeing American [...]