'Cold War is back with a VENGEANCE' UK airstrikes to target Syria's chemical weapons
BRITAIN'S Armed Forces will be limited to targeting Bashar Assad's chemical weapons
capability during airstrikes in Syria and will not be drawn into a wider conflict, Theresa
May has told ministers.
The Prime Minister is seeking to reassure colleagues that the UK is not on the verge
of dragged into the bloody Syrian civil war by joining a planned US-led attack, a senior
Government source said last night.
"This is about stopping the use of chemical weapons and has nothing to do with regime
change in Syria," the source said.
Mrs May won the backing of the Cabinet for RAF jets and submarine-launched cruise missiles
to strike Syrian targets in response to the alleged deployment of chemical weapons on
the town of Douma which killed an estimated 75 civilians.
Some insiders expect the US-led offensive to come this weekend after the Prime Minister
discussed details of the plan with US President Donald Trump in a phone call late on Thursday
night.
But the Prime Minister used a speech to ministers at an emergency "war Cabinet" meeting in Downing
Street on Thursday to insist her aim in the action was to signal that use of chemical
weapons cannot go unchallenged.
She reminded ministers that the international community had outlawed chemical warfare in
1918 in the aftermath of horrific clashes in the First World War.
"What we are seeing that international norm that has lasted nearly 100 years being eroded,"
she told the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister's comments come after Russia issued a chilling warning that any
US attack on Syria could escalate into a full-scale war.
Vassily Nebenzia also accused Britain, France and the US of only being interested in ousting
the Syrian tyrant and hemming in his country.
"The immediate priority is to avert the danger of war," Mr Nebenzia said after talks at the
UN Security Council on the diplomatic crisis following the alleged chemical weapons strike
on the Syrian town of Douma.
"We continue to observe dangerous military preparations for an illegal act of force against
a sovereign state in what would constitute a breach of international law," he said.
"We call on the leadership of these states to immediately reconsider."
In a swipe at nations threatening military reprisal for the chemical attack, the ambassador
added:
"The sole thing they have an interest in is to oust the Syrian government and more broadly
to contain the Russian Federation.
His outburst followed talks between US President Donald Trump and Theresa May to thrash out
their response to the Douma attack.
Following a phone call between the two leaders late on Thursday night, a Downing Street spokeswoman
said: "They agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged,
and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime.
"They agreed to keep working closely together on the international response."
As international tensions increased yesterday, the head of the UN admitted that East-West
relations were at their lowest ebb for a generation.
"The Cold War is back - with a vengeance," said UN secretary-genral Antonia Guterres.
He urged all states in the dispute to "act responsibly in these dangerous circumstances."
He added: "Increasing tensions and the inability to reach a compromise in the establishment
of an accountability mechanism threaten to lead to a full-blown military escalation."
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said President Trump had yet to make a final
decision about military strikes.
"Our President has not yet made a decision about possible action in Syria.
But should the United States and our allies decide to act in Syria, it will be in defense
of a principle on which we all agree," Ms Haley told the UN Security Council.
"All nations and all people will be harmed if we allow Assad to normalize the use of
chemical weapons," she said.
Earlier this week, President Trump warned Russia that "missiles are coming" for the
its Syrian ally Bashar Assad's regime.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson yesterday said it was "very important that the use of
chemical weapons should not go unchallenged".
Asked on a BBC radio show if the UK was being dragged along by the US, he said: "We will
be working with friends and partners to make sure, if we possibly can, that the use of
chemical weapons does not go unchallenged, that we deter further humanitarian catastrophes
caused by the use of such weapons."
But the political row over Mrs May's push for airstrikes without a vote in Parliament
intensified yesterday.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Further UK military intervention in Syria's appalling
multi-sided war risks escalating an already devastating conflict.
"The Government appears to be waiting for instructions from President Donald Trump on
how to proceed.
But the US administration is giving alarmingly contradictory signals.
"Even US defence secretary James Mattis has said we 'don't have evidence' and warned further
military action could 'escalate out of control'."
Labour's shadow home secretary Diane Abbott claimed RAF crews could inadvertently end
up aiding terrorist groups fighting against Assad in Syria.
Ms Abbott said: "The real danger is that what starts out as a justified punishment for the
use of chemical weapons ends up with the Royal Air Force serving as the air arm of the Jihadi
extremist rebels in Syria.
"We believe there needs to be a co-ordinated international drive to achieve a ceasefire
and a negotiated political settlement.
That's what has to happen."
Senior Tory backbencher John Baron also called for caution.
In an article for the think tank Politeia, he wrote: "It is unclear whether military
action would have any practical or chastising effect – the damage caused to the Syrian
airbase by the American attack in April 2017 was apparently quickly repaired, with aircraft
using the runway just a few hours later, and chemical weapons continue to be used in Syria."
He added: "Our past interventions have had a tendency of dragging us ever deeper in.
Attempting to prevent future chemical attacks is one thing, but the Prime Minister and Presidents
Trump and Macron have not ruled out attempting to topple President Assad wholesale.
"This seems unlikely, given the strong Russian and Iranian support for his régime, but if
achieved his overthrow could usher in still more violence in Syria."
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