Last December, the House of Commons voted to allow air strikes against ISIS (or Daesh) bases in Syria. That was an important decision. Although it was backed by a big majority of MPs – 397 to 223 – it caused a bitter split within the Labour Party.
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Leader, spoke out strongly against the plan while Hilary Benn, then the Shadow Foreign Secretary, gave a passionate speech in favour:
While there were some arguments about the principle of such action, there was also plenty of argument about the practicalities – predictions as to whether it would work or not.
It was always estimated that the campaign to defeat ISIS would take years rather than months. However, we can already see that ISIS has seen huge setbacks since that vote was taken. They still control large tracts of land in northern Syria, but they have lost substantial ground. Previously there would be retreats balanced by advances. This year it has been a consistent pattern – in Iraq and Libya as well as
Syria – of ISIS’s territory shrinking.
Within hours of the vote last December the RAF started bombing terrorist targets. There were precision attacks to avoid civilian casualties but aimed to help cut off the supply of oil revenue. Recently a coalition of western-backed Syrian fighters liberated the Syrian city of Manbij. The celebrations of residents took the form of
men shaving off their beards and women burning niqabs and smoking
cigarettes.
As well as losing land, ISIS has been losing money and manpower. Again the British airstrikes have played a key role in this. This terrorist group is dependent on oil revenue. On August 7th they were spotted attempting to extract oil from one of the eastern Syrian oilfields. In response two Tornados attacked a convoy of tankers north of Abu Kamal. A pretty typical day’s work for the RAF.
The number of foreign fighters within ISIS is estimated to have fallen to 19,000 from 25,000. In a clear message of our resolve the Ministry of Defence announced the deployment of two additional Tornado aircraft and six Typhoon aircraft.
Back in December the message from Corbyn was defeatist. He said that “extending British bombing is unlikely to make a huge difference.” He noted that despite efforts from our allies “ISIS has expanded”. We would “struggle to find suitable targets”. Corbyn was not convinced that “there are credible ground forces able to take back territory now held by ISIS. In fact, it is quite clear that there are no such
forces”. He said that military action would increase the terrorist threat to the west and called for a “negotiated political settlement”. Using airstrikes to cut off the oil supply to ISIS meant a “clear risk of potentially disastrous incidents.” As opposed, Corbyn failed to appreciate, to the certainty of disastrous incidents, of not doing so.
Defeating ISIS means denying them any haven – in Libya, Iraq or Syria. That mission is not only morally right for the western world but is ultimately the only way to safeguard our own national security. The progress in Syria should not have come as a great surprise. A year earlier, the Commons had backed airstrikes in Iraq and RAF pilots proceeded to help local forces recover 30 per cent of the territory ISIS had captured in that country. Yet, until December last year, when RAF planes reached the Syrian border, ISIS had nothing to fear from them.
When asked about the successes in Iraq, the response of Corbyn was to ignore them. Instead he kept pumping out the message of appeasing our enemies. Towards the end of the debate Hilary Benn said: “My view is that we must now confront this evil. It is now time for us to do our bit in Syria.”
That is what we are doing. Of course, the United States has undertaken the main burden. Other countries have also helped – France, Germany, Australia. But the British have been doing our bit. We have the expertise and equipment to have made a difference and together with our allies we are making a difference. We can be proud of what is being achieved and proud that the decision of our elected representatives is being vindicated.