Bit Of A Climb Down Over Syria....

[Zacs-Master]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10272555/Cameron-backs-down-on-urgent-Syria-strikes.html

[jno]

this is how the Telegraph's put it:

20.11 David Cameron has been forced to alter his timetable for strikes after Opposition leader Ed Miliband told the Prime Minister that Labour would not support the Government motion unless MPs were allowed a second vote following a proper investigation and vote by the United Nation

[douglas9401]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Major_Major_Major

[ichkeria]

The "sensible re-think" was of course forced on the PM by Mr Miliband :-)

[Zacs-Master]

Crikey TTT, have you had a hard day?

[sandyRoe]

I think Major Major faced a problem in trying to avoid flying combat missions. It was something like this, a long time since I read the book, you'd be mad to continue flying but to try and avoid combat demonstrated you wern't mad so you had to fly.

[naomi24]

Douglas, ah, I see what you mean. I thought you had endowed someone here with the title. Now I know I'm tired. :o/

Bedtime. :o)

[Brenden]

Very sensible and the right thing to do. I am still very dubious as to which side used the poison gas, as there are a lot of fundamentalists who are fighting with the rebels and they would not think twice about using it. When in doubt - stand still.

[emmie]

not a climbdown, common sense has prevailed, we would be foolish to go steaming in, seeing the mess that is Afghanistan, Iraq and sundry other fights we have become embroiled in.

[mikey4444]

Naomi...I agree. A sensible pause for the UN to report back. Well done to Ed for bringing some common sense to the proceedings.

[naomi24]

Mikey, but yesterday you were all for going in immediately. I don't think this is a petty point-scoring issue - it's just important that before we do anything we know what we're doing - and consider very carefully the implications and the possible results. The middle east is a ticking time bomb and in my opinion, no one has the ability to defuse it.

[mikey4444]

This is a discussion naomi, not an essay. The facts in this affair are changing by the hour. I have just heard Cleggie being interviewed by Humphries on the Today program. He made a serious point by saying that he didn't want to be known in years to come as the politician that refused to act over a tyrant that used chemical weapons.

Nobody, least of me, are saying that all this is a simple matter. But we can't keep standing around like a nervous groom at a wedding, shifting from foot to foot. Sometimes you have to act and I would say that this current use of chemical weapons in Syria is on a par with what happened in the Balkans in the 90's.

If we are going to wait for the UN to give its permission to do something, through the Security Council, than we shall all be very much older before that happens. Its worth remembering that the 400 Dutch UN soldiers were unable to stop the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995. As long as the Russians and Chinese continue to use their veto, the UN will be a paper tiger.

The main reason that we are in the position that we find ourselves in today is that the world has stood around for years watching Assad commit atrocity after atrocity.

Lets see what the UN inspectors say when they have finished their work. It will only take a few more days. But lets not be afraid to do decisive action when we need to.

[youngmafbog]

Climb down? So you would have preferred he used the left wing method of misusing the Parliament Act to force through a disliked decision then?

I know listening to the people is not a lefty trait but it is very amusing the reaction of the left when he does.

[youngmafbog]

And it wasn't just Red Ed either, many Tories were against it, in fact the right wing on here seemed more against it than the left; yourself included Mickey!!

[emmie]

one surely should use common sense and indeed past experience, and if Cameron, Clegg want to be thought of in the same manner as Blair, then time to take a step back. I can understand the frustrations of seeming to do nothing, however no one will ever ever say thank you for our intervention, its usually quite the opposite when the dust finally settles. UN, and getting around the negotiating table should be a priority.

[emmie]

Milliband can say what he likes, however for now he isn't in power, and till he is, what input can he have about this matter. He can say i don't like it, fair enough, but it's Cameron who's neck will be on the line if we jump in with all guns blazing.

[naomi24]

Mikey, //This is a discussion naomi, not an essay.//

I don’t know what you mean there. The point is we will go in presumably with air strikes, killing even more civilians, but whatever we do, we are not going to bring peace to that area – in fact there’s every likelihood that we will find ourselves out of the proverbial frying pan….

[Sqad]

This is a situation where the PM earns his pitiful salary and i must say that i wouldn't like to be in his position.

One can make valid arguments for and against a military strike and also for either side of the conflict being the target.

U-turn? Change of policy? Monitor the situation, call it what you like, but the electorate does not back military action and there will be a general election in 18 months time.

Should this be a factor?.........

[Zacs-Master]

OK, so maybe climb down was a bit of a strong phrase. It still remains a fact that he was all for military action until he (his advisers, fellow politicians, whoever) made him take a step back, which I've already said is, I think, a good thing.
I shall be extremely careful in choosing my words in the News section in future in the hope that the right wing fanatics can see the wood for the trees.

[emmie]

sqad it could be, but the electorate didn't get a say in any other military intervention, so doubt we would now.

[emmie]

why do you add right wing fanatics, that's not toning it down, that trying to score points.