Tory MP: "UK troops could be sent back to Iraq"

[dutchman]

The possibility of sending British troops back to Iraq should not be ruled out, Tory MP Liam Fox has said.



The former defence secretary told BBC Newsnight the consequences of an insurgent victory in the country were "potentially catastrophic".

An Islamist insurgency has seen militants take control of two major Iraqi cities and the UN says hundreds may have been killed in recent days.

The Iraqi security response has so far been "pretty pathetic", Mr Fox said.

Asked to rule out putting western "boots on the ground", Mr Fox said: "There will be an extreme reluctance by any western governments to do so.

"But I don't think at the moment, given the potential consequences of ISIS success, that anything can be ruled out at this stage."

Mr Fox said it appeared the Iraqi government was now fighting back, "notwithstanding the pretty pathetic efforts so far".

But he added: "The question in the coming days will be whether [Shia Prime Minister Nouri] Maliki can rise up as a statesman at this late stage."

[rebbonk]

Nothing to do with the oil supply to the West is it?

[dutchman]

Iraq militants 'planning UK attack' says David Cameron



Britain faces a direct threat of terrorist attack from the Iraqi militants currently advancing on Baghdad, David Cameron has warned.

The advance of Sunni fighters under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) has seen several key cities captured and battle lines drawn up less than 60 minutes’ drive from the capital.

And ahead of a meeting with his most senior security advisers to discuss the UK’s role in the ongoing crisis, the Prime Minister said people should be under no illusions that the deteriorating Middle East security situation “won't affect us”.

While the US has deployed a number of warships to the Persian Gulf and sent some 275 soldiers to bolster security for its own assets in Iraq, both it and Britain are yet to come to a decision over the form and scope of any possible Western intervention.

The Prime Minister will today chair a meeting of the National Security Council, in discussions that follow on from Foreign Secretary William Hague’s two statements to the Commons on Iraq this week.

As well as warning about the danger of British citizens going over to Iraq and Syria, becoming radicalised and returning to carry out attacks, Mr Cameron said Isis fighters themselves “are also planning to attack us here at home in the UK”.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he said: “I disagree with those people who think this is nothing to do with us and if they want to have some sort of extreme Islamist regime in the middle of Iraq, that won't affect us. It will.

“So the right answer is to be long-term, hard-headed, patient and intelligent with the interventions that we make.”

[rebbonk]

Britain faces a direct threat...

The biggest threat to the UK resides within Westminster, mainly inside the cabinet that meets at No.10!

Cameron said Isis fighters themselves “are also planning to attack us here at home in the UK”

Proof please you idiot! Nothing to do with you about to get a trouncing in the elections is it? Need a bit of a diversion do you?

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

Hundreds of British troops will go to Iraq



Hundreds of British troops will be sent to Iraq next month, Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, has announced, as the war against Islamic State enters a new phase.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Fallon says the British service personnel will be training Iraqi and Kurdish forces to fight Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) from January.

A small “force protection” deployment of combat-ready soldiers is also expected to be sent to defend the military training teams, who will be based at four centres inside Iraq, Mr Fallon said.

The new mission represents the first significant deployment of ground force since the last British troops withdrew from Iraq three years ago.

The details are still to be finalised but Mr Fallon told The Telegraph that the number of troops involved would be in “the very low hundreds”. At present, there are 50 British troops inside Iraq training local forces.

The announcement marks a new stage in Britain’s involvement in the fight against jihadists in Iraq and Syria. The RAF has conducted "a huge number" of air strikes against Islamic State, "second only to the United States, five times as many as France", Mr Fallon said.

Britain joined US-led air strikes earlier this year after the Commons voted in favour of raids on Islamic State targets in Iraq.

However, the UK has not joined America in bombing targets across the border in Syria, despite the fact that the government believes such action would be legal. Labour has so far declined to support military action in Syria and ministers do not want to risk a defeat in the Commons on military action.

[rebbonk]

Pure stupidity.

Let the Middle East sort itself out. We don't understand their culture(s) and are only making things worse.

[dutchman]

Details of Iraq deployment urged...

Ministers are under pressure to provide more details of a significant escalation of British military involvement in Iraq after it was announced hundreds of troops would be sent to aid the battle with Islamic State (IS) militants.

The additional deployment of UK personnel will take part in the training of Iraqi and Kurdish forces , Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said. Details of the contribution to an international mission were still being finalised but are also expected to include a small protection contingent of combat-ready British soldiers at four US-led "safe" centres.

The move represents a significant swelling of the 50-strong British force presently engaged in preparing Iraqi and Kurdish fighters for a new phase of the fight to retake swathes of territory seized by the jihadis.

Labour demanded clarity on the "scale, scope and timeframe" of the mission to ensure there was "no misunderstanding about the role of British troops in Iraq" as critics warned it was the first step towards putting boots back on the ground there.

It's Labour's fault, they wrote the Tories a blank cheque to meddle in middle-eastern affairs and the Tories cashed it