Another flipping war

[Sweep]

Any military action that might protect civilians. That is not for me to determine.

And I will repeat what I said when I re-opened this discussion

I am unsure about whether us doing anything back in 2013 was the right thing or the wrong thing. My basic beliefs would tell me that we should have intervened

But for clarification (if that is really needed) I shall add one more word to thay last sentence

My basic Christian beliefs would tell me that we should have intervened

I agree. I think we should have intervened right at the beginning when the Syrian government started bombing their own people. We waited for permission from the international community that never arrived and we were ideally placed to intervene from the air from our base in Akrotiri. Once the conflict was well underway it was too late.
However, your post highlights how difficult it is to intervene and how to do so. I am afraid not everyone can say "it's not for me to determine". It makes the desire to intervene idealistic and TBH shows that our view is lacking the substance it requires to back it up.

 

[Sweep]

I'm not a great fan of bombing when it puts civilian lives at risk.

But by not bombing them it puts civilian lives at risk. Anyway, that's another thread.

 

[Old Skier]

My basic Christian beliefs would tell me that we should have intervened

Having been involved in conflicts where (supposedly) religion has been a major factor in the problem, I'm not sure how relevant or indeed wise this is.

 

[SocketRocket]

I would want all nations to react to the situation in the same way.

I do not think I debase my own nation by suggesting that many UK citizens might not actually care that much about Syrian Refugees. Please tell me I am wrong. But the fact that many would seem resent the UK accepting Syrian refugees in any numbers - or indeed any at all; would happily see the back of the UK resident immigrant community, or would oppose a unilateral granting of permanent residency without a quid pro quo from the EU - these things would suggest to me that compassion to 'others than us' may be limited in many of the 'indigenous' UK population.

When you say 'Many UK Citizens may not even care' what do you mean? Do you mean the despicable Brexiteers, do you mean most people in the country or working class people. Please explain.

I think your suggestion that most dont care is wrong, I would suggest most people look at these retched Syrians in Allepo and are sickened by what they see. Would these people like to see Millions of refugees brought to the UK, probably not as being a small country like ours which already allows large numbers of immigrants each year we couldn't cope with integrating the numbers. I also understand what you are getting at regarding peoples views on large numbers of Muslims coming to the UK. It's true that a lot of people would be uneasy about that due to their experiences of how existing Muslims have not integrated very well and tend to create separate societies with different cultural lifestyles that prevent cohesion. This seems to be the case in Countries like Sweden and Germany at the moment. The UK way of supporting Syrians and not anyone from anywhere who jumps on the band wagon is by active financial and material support in areas near their country.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

When you say 'Many UK Citizens may not even care' what do you mean? Do you mean the despicable Brexiteers, do you mean most people in the country or working class people. Please explain.

I think your suggestion that most dont care is wrong, I would suggest most people look at these retched Syrians in Allepo and are sickened by what they see. Would these people like to see Millions of refugees brought to the UK, probably not as being a small country like ours which already allows large numbers of immigrants each year we couldn't cope with integrating the numbers. I also understand what you are getting at regarding peoples views on large numbers of Muslims coming to the UK. It's true that a lot of people would be uneasy about that due to their experiences of how existing Muslims have not integrated very well and tend to create separate societies with different cultural lifestyles that prevent cohesion. This seems to be the case in Countries like Sweden and Germany at the moment. The UK way of supporting Syrians and not anyone from anywhere who jumps on the band wagon is by active financial and material support in areas near their country.

I mean many UK citizens full stop. I suspect that it spans all demographies and politics.