This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/world/europe/britain-syria-islamic-state-airstrikes-isis.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Britain Hints It May Join U.S. Campaign Against ISIS in Syria | Britain Hints It May Join U.S. Campaign Against ISIS in Syria |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| LONDON — Jolted by the deaths of 30 British tourists in Tunisia at the hands of a gunman professing allegiance to the Islamic State, Prime Minister David Cameron is considering joining the United States in bombing the militant group’s forces in Syria. | LONDON — Jolted by the deaths of 30 British tourists in Tunisia at the hands of a gunman professing allegiance to the Islamic State, Prime Minister David Cameron is considering joining the United States in bombing the militant group’s forces in Syria. |
| Mr. Cameron’s spokeswoman, Helen Bower, briefing reporters on Thursday, said that the prime minister wants members of Parliament to “be thinking about” authorizing Britain to do “more in Syria.” | Mr. Cameron’s spokeswoman, Helen Bower, briefing reporters on Thursday, said that the prime minister wants members of Parliament to “be thinking about” authorizing Britain to do “more in Syria.” |
| Ms. Bower said Mr. Cameron thought that “there has been and continues to be a case for doing more in Syria” against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Britain is already conducting bombing runs against the group in Iraq. | Ms. Bower said Mr. Cameron thought that “there has been and continues to be a case for doing more in Syria” against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Britain is already conducting bombing runs against the group in Iraq. |
| “What has changed is the growing evidence that ISIL poses a threat to people here in Britain and our national security,” she said. “And in that context the prime minister does think that M.P.s should be thinking about these issues. His view is that there has been and continues to be a case for doing more in Syria.” | “What has changed is the growing evidence that ISIL poses a threat to people here in Britain and our national security,” she said. “And in that context the prime minister does think that M.P.s should be thinking about these issues. His view is that there has been and continues to be a case for doing more in Syria.” |
| But no immediate action is expected. Mr. Cameron, though legally empowered to take military action, will not do so without parliamentary approval, and both the government and Parliament want more time to reach a consensus before risking a vote. | But no immediate action is expected. Mr. Cameron, though legally empowered to take military action, will not do so without parliamentary approval, and both the government and Parliament want more time to reach a consensus before risking a vote. |
| Noting that Britain was already flying surveillance drones and air-to-air refueling operations over Syria, Ms. Bower said that any further military action needed to be considered “properly and carefully” before Parliament was asked to back any specific action. | Noting that Britain was already flying surveillance drones and air-to-air refueling operations over Syria, Ms. Bower said that any further military action needed to be considered “properly and carefully” before Parliament was asked to back any specific action. |
| In Tunisia, the authorities arrested eight more people on Thursday in connection with the killings last week at a hotel and beach resort in Sousse. Those arrested had “direct links to the carrying out of the operation,” said Kamel Jendoubi, a Tunisian government minister. | In Tunisia, the authorities arrested eight more people on Thursday in connection with the killings last week at a hotel and beach resort in Sousse. Those arrested had “direct links to the carrying out of the operation,” said Kamel Jendoubi, a Tunisian government minister. |
| The killings of more than three dozen tourists were committed by Seifeddine Rezgui, 24, a student who was reported to have links with the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The bodies of eight Britons were flown home Thursday, with more flights to come on Friday, when Britain will observe a moment of silence at noon in memory of the dead. | The killings of more than three dozen tourists were committed by Seifeddine Rezgui, 24, a student who was reported to have links with the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The bodies of eight Britons were flown home Thursday, with more flights to come on Friday, when Britain will observe a moment of silence at noon in memory of the dead. |
| The United States has been pressing Mr. Cameron, especially after he won a majority in May’s election, to become more engaged in international problems like Ukraine and the Middle East and to commit Britain to spending the NATO target of 2 percent of its gross domestic product on the military. | The United States has been pressing Mr. Cameron, especially after he won a majority in May’s election, to become more engaged in international problems like Ukraine and the Middle East and to commit Britain to spending the NATO target of 2 percent of its gross domestic product on the military. |
| But Mr. Cameron is hampered by his failure to secure Parliament’s backing for airstrikes on Syria over chemical weapons attacks in August 2013, which also caused President Obama to rethink military action on the matter. | But Mr. Cameron is hampered by his failure to secure Parliament’s backing for airstrikes on Syria over chemical weapons attacks in August 2013, which also caused President Obama to rethink military action on the matter. |
| Traditionally, British governments do not need parliamentary authorization to use military action. But after Tony Blair, the former prime minister, took Britain into the war in Iraq in 2003 on what are seen here as false assurances that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Cameron has said he would seek Parliament’s approval. | Traditionally, British governments do not need parliamentary authorization to use military action. But after Tony Blair, the former prime minister, took Britain into the war in Iraq in 2003 on what are seen here as false assurances that Baghdad had weapons of mass destruction, Mr. Cameron has said he would seek Parliament’s approval. |
| The 2013 failure stemmed from bad parliamentary management, with a number of Conservatives voting with the opposition Labour Party after Mr. Cameron’s inability to persuade the Labour Party leader at the time, Ed Miliband, to agree on a joint motion. | The 2013 failure stemmed from bad parliamentary management, with a number of Conservatives voting with the opposition Labour Party after Mr. Cameron’s inability to persuade the Labour Party leader at the time, Ed Miliband, to agree on a joint motion. |
| But 2013 was about President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and chemical weapons, not about the Islamic State. And no British blood had been shed in the chemical attacks. | But 2013 was about President Bashar al-Assad of Syria and chemical weapons, not about the Islamic State. And no British blood had been shed in the chemical attacks. |
| Last September, Mr. Cameron got parliamentary authorization to strike the Islamic State in Iraq, because the Iraqi government asked for British help. But Mr. Assad made no such request, so Parliament did not authorize action in Syria in the absence of a United Nations Security Council resolution approving the use of force. | Last September, Mr. Cameron got parliamentary authorization to strike the Islamic State in Iraq, because the Iraqi government asked for British help. But Mr. Assad made no such request, so Parliament did not authorize action in Syria in the absence of a United Nations Security Council resolution approving the use of force. |
| In the last two days, after the murders in Tunisia and cases of British nationals going to Syria to join militants, Mr. Cameron’s defense secretary, Michael Fallon, has floated the idea of fighting the Islamic State in Syria, too, arguing that the group does not recognize any border between Iraq and Syria and that to fight it in only one country is illogical. | In the last two days, after the murders in Tunisia and cases of British nationals going to Syria to join militants, Mr. Cameron’s defense secretary, Michael Fallon, has floated the idea of fighting the Islamic State in Syria, too, arguing that the group does not recognize any border between Iraq and Syria and that to fight it in only one country is illogical. |
| “There’s no legal bar to us operating in Syria, but we don’t have the parliamentary approval for it,” Mr. Fallon said on Wednesday, in what was seen as a trial balloon. His comments were followed by Ms. Bower’s and Mr. Fallon’s himself on Thursday in Parliament, where he said that, “We would return to this house for approval before conducting airstrikes in Syria. It is for all members to consider how best to tackle ISIL.” | “There’s no legal bar to us operating in Syria, but we don’t have the parliamentary approval for it,” Mr. Fallon said on Wednesday, in what was seen as a trial balloon. His comments were followed by Ms. Bower’s and Mr. Fallon’s himself on Thursday in Parliament, where he said that, “We would return to this house for approval before conducting airstrikes in Syria. It is for all members to consider how best to tackle ISIL.” |
| Having lost both the election and the leadership of Mr. Miliband, who resigned, Labour Party officials said on Thursday that they would look carefully at any government proposal. Harriet Harman, the party’s interim leader, said of the Islamic State: “Everything that can be done to stop them must be done, and any proposals that the government brings forward which will help tackle the growing horror of ISIL, of course, we will look at them very, very seriously.” | Having lost both the election and the leadership of Mr. Miliband, who resigned, Labour Party officials said on Thursday that they would look carefully at any government proposal. Harriet Harman, the party’s interim leader, said of the Islamic State: “Everything that can be done to stop them must be done, and any proposals that the government brings forward which will help tackle the growing horror of ISIL, of course, we will look at them very, very seriously.” |
| Vernon Coaker, Labour’s shadow defense secretary, cautioned that action must be meaningful and coordinated with others in the region. “We all need to be clear about what difference any action would make to our objective of defeating ISIL, about the nature of any action, its objectives and the legal basis,” he said. “Any potential action must command the support of other nations in the region, including Iraq and the coalition already taking action in Syria.” | Vernon Coaker, Labour’s shadow defense secretary, cautioned that action must be meaningful and coordinated with others in the region. “We all need to be clear about what difference any action would make to our objective of defeating ISIL, about the nature of any action, its objectives and the legal basis,” he said. “Any potential action must command the support of other nations in the region, including Iraq and the coalition already taking action in Syria.” |
| In February, the House of Commons Select Defense Committee criticized the government for playing “a strikingly modest role” in fighting the Islamic State in Iraq, saying that Britain flew only 6 percent of the sorties and had few soldiers on the ground. | In February, the House of Commons Select Defense Committee criticized the government for playing “a strikingly modest role” in fighting the Islamic State in Iraq, saying that Britain flew only 6 percent of the sorties and had few soldiers on the ground. |
| On June 29, Mr. Cameron called for a “full-spectrum” response to the Islamic State, from dealing with Islamist extremism at home to military options abroad. But he made no specific policy promises at the time. | |
| There were notes of caution on Thursday. Crispin Blunt, the Conservative chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Parliament should agree to extend the theater of operations only if it would be a “battle-winning decision.” More important, he suggested, would be getting states in the region to cooperate in fighting Islamic State. | There were notes of caution on Thursday. Crispin Blunt, the Conservative chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that Parliament should agree to extend the theater of operations only if it would be a “battle-winning decision.” More important, he suggested, would be getting states in the region to cooperate in fighting Islamic State. |