Fallon and Syria by John Patton

 

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Even among senior, Labour figures, there is fairly widespread agreement that Britain’s intervention in Iraq has had dire consequences for the whole Middle East Region. George Bush’s ‘war on terrorism’ was justifiably seen by most Muslims as an attack on them and on their beliefs. The barely literate, popular Press has so fuelled Islamophobia  and overt hatred of Muslims in many parts of the West over the last decade, that they in turn are suspicious of all actions directed at their co-religionists.

The  hawkish Defence Minister, Michael Fallon, ignoring all   lessons of history, has proposed air strikes against ISIS bases in Syria. He seems to forget that in the last Parliament, William Hague was keen to get into action against the Assad regime and to support the forces opposed to it. We now know that those  ‘moderate rebels’, armed by the Americans, are  clearly identified as the umbrella Islamic State!  In the last Parliament, Fallon was urging military action against Putin because of his perceived threat to the Baltic States. It is clear that when Fallon is wrong, he does so in upper case letters and grabs a few headlines from such skilled, European experts as the Daily Mail.  The tight arithmetic of the Tory majority forced Cameron to keep him in place at Defence to appease his own right wing.  One of Fallon’s accusations against the Russians  was that they were ignoring  the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Yet he said this week that ‘there is no legal bar to us operating in Syria’ . That’s his commitment to respecting sovereign boundaries.

He has the support of the former Chief of General Staff, General Richard Dannett, who served in Northern Ireland and succeeded the   disgraced General Sir Mike Jackson of Bloody Sunday notoriety as CGS. The British Army knows that the massacre by its forces in Derry over forty years ago sufficiently radicalised many, previously uncommitted, young people  to join the IRA.  Dannett must surely also recognise that had Britain and the US not attacked Iraq and subsequently destabilised the whole Region, then many of the of the current problems  would simply not have arisen. How can he and Fallon possibly argue that Britain and armed intervention is the solution.

One other belief shared by Fallon and Dannett is the failure of the Human Rights Act. Fallon,  in the last parliament,  is on record as believing that what he called the “abuse” of the Human Rights Act served to bring about costly inquiries into the conduct of British soldiers during wartime operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and  was wrong.  “This abuse has got to stop”, he told a journalist, “and the next Tory government will limit the reach of human rights cases to the UK so our forces overseas are not subject to persistent human rights claims.”  Dannett, in turn,  believes that it would be wrong to bring legal action against any of those soldiers whom the Saville Inquiry found guilty of murder in Derry on Bloody Sunday.

Baron Dannett is a muscular Christian and, perhaps, the lion-hearted Richard seeks a modern crusade in Syria.

5 Responses to Fallon and Syria by John Patton

  1. Peadar Ó Cathasaigh July 4, 2015 at 12:56 am #

    As a practicing Irish Muslim I just wish to say ‘go raibh míle maith agat as ucht an ailt seo’. (Thank you ever so much for writing this piece). It makes for a wonderful read and am sure it will be well received by the Islamic community in Ireland. Well done Jude.

  2. Wolfe tone July 4, 2015 at 9:53 am #

    Perhaps Jude this is the main reason a lot of people believe ISIS is at the very least a ‘useful idiot’ for western regimes? This exaggerated group facilitates the west by design or accident to target countries it doesn’t like such as Syria. For the ministry of peace, fallon, to try and pretend he is any way interested in targeting ISIS in Syria is laughable. We all know they were smarting that they didn’t get the chance to bomb the Syrian nation back to the Stone Age last year under the trick of humanitarian intervention. These people don’t like not getting their own way, but they won’t stop trying.
    Hypothetically, if the British people didn’t fall for the ‘humanitarian intervention’ card maybe perhaps if enough ‘ISIS’ atrocities are carried out on UK citizens might change their mentality? Devious Britain? Well from our experience during the troubles they are certainly capable of being devious.

  3. Séamus Ó Néill July 4, 2015 at 10:33 am #

    Being that there are only about 22 countries that Britain has not invaded , one would think that time would have enlightened them as to the consequences of their imperial adventures…nope….safe in their mittyesque belief that they are a ” superpower ” they moronically are trying to impose their form of “democracy” where it is clearly unwanted …..or are they really ? What if their ill-considered master plan , along with their bully-boy cohorts in America , is to destabilize the whole Middle-East for Israels benefit or even worse …propel us into WW3. Of course Muslims are enraged , I’m enraged….they are not acting with my permission or on my behalf , I want to live in peace and harmony with everyone !

  4. John July 5, 2015 at 4:09 am #

    After spending 36 years of my life growing up in the UK, (before moving to Ireland 14 years ago) – becoming politicised barely into my teens, (the arrival of Thatcher as Tory Leader, then PM, and nearly two Decades of destruction of the North of England where i lived – mainly at her command, saw to that) – I can safely say that in terms of Defence Minister’s, Fallon tops the list (almost), of being the most clueless numpties to have ever held the Position.
    If i remember rightly, at least (Lord) Carrington had the balls to stand up against the harridan, during her Vote-Catching War/Expedition of a rock, thousands of miles away, populated by more sheep than people – where she was responsible for killing hundreds of people, when minimal force would have sufficed. Then again, she was looking at a possible ousting by Labour at the forthcoming General Election – and ‘The Lads’ needed a change of scenery from training on Dartmoor.

  5. John July 6, 2015 at 1:14 am #

    Excellent / Heartening replies from Seamus, Wolfe and Peadar.
    I often think that a great deal of the common sense thought and spoken on this Island is via this Blog – Jude and Paddykool, (along with Guest Bloggers such as John Patton). Outstanding input always from those who reply to many topics, (apart from the usual suspects – 2 in particular spring to mind) – Then again, we do live in a Democracy. Though the events down here in The South over recent years – the last year to 18 months, have me wondering, ie: the ever encroaching of the Right To Protest – Then again, there should have been hundreds of thousands on the Streets 6-7 years ago, without it taking the Irish Water thievery to bring the Public out.
    Now we hear the two clowns Ahern & Cowen are on for Pension increases – whilst the Minimum Wage has been the same for 8 Years (with an short-lived attempt to reduce it by a Euro). Even the likes of Estonia etc have seen an increase.
    I still have very, very vivid memories of The Poll Tax Riots – it’s about time the people of Ireland really said ENOUGH.
    (Apologies for going off-topic. Been round at a friend’s in my apartment block this eve. Politics was very much a topic).