Syria- should Parliament be recalled?

Yes, parliament should be recalled, then Obama's and Cameron's views should be aired in a United Nations meeting about the next steps. If they are thinking about military action, surely the lessons from Iraq will stop them using 'shock and awe' tactics.

Agreed.

Why do I worry about politicians' ability to learn from the past?

bluebell maybe because the average politician seems to be lacking in that area!

Yes bluebell they should!
When spot on!

One of the (many) mistakes with Iraq was the failure to plan post-invasion. Although I realise Syria is different, there is still the same 'what would happen if Assad went' scenario to consider. I really don't know what the UK should do - the UN should be the arbiter but is so hamstrung by the make up of the Security Council

Yes parliament should be recalled immediately. This is all horribly reminiscent of the time pre-Iraq invasion and I agree with others that their collective memories and abilities to learn from past mistakes appear sadly deficient.

Certainly Parliament needs to be recalled, and I strongly oppose military intervention.

I agree with nightowl
I too oppose military action and for the first time ever, I shall join and encourage protest marches.

Article by Andrew Green, a former ambassador to Syria (so I presume he knows something about the country – more than most of us at any rate) who thinks that "blundering into war in Syria would be pure foolishness". He asks three very pertinent questions in the article.

Good article - I see he makes the point about the longer term consequences. What are Cameron and Hague upto ? I just have this feeling that some people just love going to war (Thatcher, Blair, and now ?)

Very good article that.

His points must surely be discussed between all the involved governments. I don't understand why western countries, China and Russia aren't sitting down with democratic Arab states to work out a solution. They need to be locked in a room and not let out until they've reached a peaceful consensus.

I believe I heard him in an interview on Radio Four not long ago (I think it was him - I'm terrible with names). It was an excellent interview and he came across as being very down to earth and knowledgeable about the situation. If the west were to intervene it would be like Afghanistan. Unwinable.

Yes, parliament should be recalled if only to help Cameron etc recall what happened last time we thought of sorting out someone else's problems. Syria is more worrying because of Russia and China's involvement and I agree with when that there must be a peaceful concensus.

Why is the UN so flipping slow to get involved?

Because of Russia and China

I remember the night before we declared war. We were all writing to our MPs. Ours seemed to think that by going to war in Iraq the Palestinian cause would be helped as in Blair does the US a favour and he could shift their position on Palestine.

More agreement from me about the need to recall parliament. Good article thatbags. Will parliament listen to the voters. It certainly didn't before the Iraq war, which was also opposed by so many of us. Surely the UK can't simply foliow the USA into another disaster in the middle east. there's no evidence I can see that our recent military campaigns have helped the people it was said would be helped by our intervention.

Short guide to the Middle East

...and there you have it. Short and terribly, sadly complex.

My father years ago said that if only the Arab nations could unite and speak as one the balance of world power would change! He was, at that time in despair for his homeland, Palestine.

The middle east is a complete mess and I believe it's at least partly due to historical interference by western powers in pursuance of their own interests.

It's a terrible situation in Syria but I don't think the UK/US setting up "no fly zones" or bombing "strategic targets" will improve matters. Anyway, although Assad is unpopular with the west, we don't know for certain that he was responsible for using the chemical weapons.

Some compare what is happening in Syria to what happened during the holocaust - implying that we should not stand idly by but take action to prevent further killings. The Syrian situation is effectively a civil war where both sides are armed and have committed atrocities.

I agree, when outside agencies start putting up artificial borders and changing the world 'map' as has happened historically in this region, it can only lead to trouble.

Isn't Parliament back from recess quite soon? Our representatives should speak for us; it is very worrying to hear the echoes of Iraq and the mess we made of that.