Evil ideology must be defeated
Op-ed: UK is now second only to US in its contribution to international campaign against ISIS. Britain has both military capability and political resolve to see this fight through to the end, and doing so is vital to security of both UK and Israel.
The UK has played a leading role in airstrikes against Daesh in Iraq for over a year. But this decision represents a significant expansion of the UK’s role in the international coalition against Daesh.
I was in the UK the day before the vote. The debate in the media and parliament was intense and passionate.
British Prime Minister David Cameron brought this motion to the House of Commons because Daesh poses a fundamental threat to the security of the UK. Daesh has already murdered British hostages in Syria and inspired the worst terrorist attack against British people since 2005 on the beaches of Tunisia, leaving 30 British nationals dead. In the last year, our security services have foiled seven different major terrorist plots against the UK.
Daesh has also attacked our closest allies and partners, including in the horrific episode Paris. They also represent yet another menace in this region for Israel. Prime Minister Cameron was clear that the UK needed to respond to the call of our allies for the UK to join the coalition effort in Syria. We had to act in Daesh’s heartland in and around Raqqa as well as in Iraq. The UK could not just sit back and wait for Daesh to attack us.
Coalition airstrikes, alongside the work of local ground forces who are bravely taking the fight to Daesh and resisting the tyranny of the Assad regime, are critical to the campaign to defeat Daesh. But they are only a part of a comprehensive international strategy.
In addition to military activity, that strategy includes work to fight both terrorism – including squeezing its finances and disrupting the flow of foreign fighters - and the poisonous extremist ideology that is the root cause of the terrorist threat that we face. This is a struggle that we share with Israel. David Cameron has described the fight against extremism as the "struggle of our generation." We will continue to work with Israel in tackling this shared challenge.
The campaign against Daesh also requires political and diplomatic action. I attended the Geneva conferences on Syria in 2012 and 2014. It was clear then as it is clear now that only a political solution can bring an enduring end to the conflict in Syria, including through a new Government in Damascus which can be a partner in the fight against Daesh. Syrian President Bashar Assad cannot be a part of that.
As members of the International Syria Support Group we are working, with the UN, towards negotiations between the Syrian parties on a transitional government, a new constitution and free and fair elections.
The fourth pillar of the international strategy is to maintain our significant investment in humanitarian support to Syria and the region and to prepare for Syria’s long-term reconstruction. The UK will co-host the Syria crisis conference in London in February 2016 to take this work forward. David Cameron announced that the UK will commit at least $1.5 billion to Syria’s reconstruction in addition to the $1.5 billion we have already provided in humanitarian aid.
The UK is now second only to the United States in its contribution to the international campaign against Daesh. David Cameron is clear that we have both the military capability and political resolve to see this fight through to the end. Doing so, and defeating the evil ideology of Daesh, is vital to the security of both the UK and Israel.
David Quarrey is Britain's ambassador to Israel.
