To Bomb or not to Bomb

Two days ago the UK government carried out airstrikes on Daesh targets in Syria, sparking mass debate across Europe. With phrases like 'terrorist sympathiser', 'Iraq all over again' and 'Western hypocrisy' being banded around, this is an issue that has divided a nation. A survey conducted by Survation showed that 48% of people backed the decision, which is only a slight minority. So what are people saying?

Tory politicians and certain sections of the working class are both calling for action, arguing that inaction is a threat to security. We'll cover that later. People that lean against the airstrikes argue that thousands of innocent people will die as a result of the decision made in parliament. While Western governments claim that modern laser-guided missiles reduce civilian casualties, they aren't entirely sure how many targets have been killed, as they aren't any ground troops counting the dead. US estimates vary by source, so in actual fact, they do not know who they are killing, but yet they claim to be killing them more accurately. Innocents will die and while no-one is denying that, pro-war advocates unempathetically state it is necessary, caring not for the lives of the innocent. Either that or they have the grave prejudice that all Syrians are terrorists. Let's look at that.

Daesh is a Sunni Muslim extremist organisation, and 70% of the Syrian population is made up of Sunni Muslims, though not necessarily Daesh supporters. In fact latest estimates put the strength of Daesh at 200,000 soldiers. When compared with the 20 million citizens in Syria, that tells us that 1% of Syria is a Daesh militant. According to this statistic, it follows that for every thousand Daesh extremists killed, 99 thousand innocent lives will be lost. In reality this figure would of course be subject to many variables, but simplistically, a lot more innocents will die. A poll from the Pew Research Centre has shown that there is an overwhelmingly negative view of Daesh within their countries of operation. Considering that Daesh has support from a minority of people, a relentless attack on Syria by the western alliance is nothing short of genocide.

The less politically-aware pro-war supporters seem to be under the impression that Daesh has come out of no-where, a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud, but it's no secret that the US has been funding Daesh for years to destabilise middle eastern governments. Tony Blair even admitted that he believes that the Iraq war contributed to the rise of Daesh, in an interview recently. This is where the Western hypocrisy element comes in, for the same nations fighting extremism are the same ones that have fanned the flames that led to this inferno.

Far from watching events unfold from a distance, Western governments are an active contributor to the terror attacks.

Politicians congratulated each other and declared the UK a safer place now thanks to the decision, which is a declaration of ignorance more than anything. After the collateral damage that the bombs will inevitably cause, Daesh recruitment will sore as mentioned in my previous blog post (The Fake Passport: Theories and Ideas Surrounding the Recent Co-ordinated Terror Attacks), by giving the Daesh struggle legitimacy. The moderates won't be so moderate once their families are massacred by Tornado jets. When we consider the influx of Syrian refugees, it isn't hard to imagine that bombing Syria will make the UK a far more dangerous place. Ask yourself this, if the UK is now safer because the government bombed Syria, why is the current UK threat level 'severe'? The Survation survey mentioned earlier also showed that 59% of people believe that sending planes to Syria would increase the risk of a terrorist attack in the UK

Another question of note, where is all the money coming from? When the UK's debt is used as an excuse for the stifled NHS, why is this not a factor when considering acts of war? War is an expensive business, and while profit can be made it takes a big investment. It seems the UK government can magic up some funds when it comes to killing foreigners, but not to house it's own citizens and cover healthcare.

When it comes down to it, despite resistance from the public, including a Stop the War Coalition protest outside the debate at the House of Commons, the UK government have proved again that they will go to war as and when they please with or without consent of the public. In 2003 it was Labour with Iraq, now it is Conservative with Syria. Members of both parties voted for both wars, showing just how out of touch with each other these politicians are, let alone the public. That and the media's treatment of Jeremy Corbyn shows just how low this Demockery has stooped. With the mainstream media spreading fear on a daily basis, legitimising the decision for war, it's no wonder there are many people backing the decision. If Iraq is anything to go by however, public backing will only decline as the death and misery ensues. My thoughts are with the victims in Syria in their dark times.

Stop the War Coalition are holding a national demonstration. Click here for more details.