Attacks in Paris

Just a little, finicky point.....did you really mean to write 'condoning'

Perhaps the poster meant 'condemning' and the autocorrect thought otherwise?

I read it as condemning.

Muslim Council of Britain statement

Statement of solidarity from British Muslim communities

A couple of points about Germany and fighting against ISIL. German law has had strict limits on military involvement since the end of World War II, originally intended to prevent a revival of Nazi crimes. This apparently prevents it from taking part in military action unless it is part of a UN/NATO backed action. It has however, got soldiers in Iraq training and arming the Kurds in Iraq fighting ISIL. About 95% of the Kurdish territory once held by ISIL is now under Kurdish control. (Unfortunately Turkey which has just joined the international coalition bombing ISIL is now bombing those same Kurds.)

I think it is time for Germany to change the law.

It would appear the recent G20 meeting in Antalya may be showing signs of a widening coalition at long last .

Putin mentioned in a live feed on t.v to his heads of his armed forces that the Russian navy were to collaborate with French naval ships heading for attacks on IS in Syria.

The Assad issue has not gone away but the focus must be on defeating IS for now and I hope Putin , indeed all world leaders realise they are better off being part of a coalition and working together to defeat IS.

Is it me? Is WWIII about to start! Does anyone else note the frenzy of politicians to incite military action. And another question... will the politicians support our service personnel after they "have done their bit", or will they be the subject of criminal war crimes in civilian courts!

I just wish I had more faith in the main players. Recent history shows absolutely no evidence that they look no further than short term, resulting in chaos in every country they touch. Why should I have faith that this next exercise of destruction will be any better?

Breaking news on the BBC website is the St Dennis area of Paris is in lock down as police raid an apartment. 3 suspects killed and 2 arrested.

CelticRose more than 60 countries are involved in some way in the war against ISIL. It's scary and yes, I have concerns about the military action and how it will be viewed in the future. I am not sure if military intervention without going through the UN would be considered an act of aggression and therefore illegal in international law.

No, WW3 is not about to start.

Don't forget the vitriol poured on Blair's head over Iraq started on 2003. This after 9/11. We must be so careful and be absolutely clear of outcome. If the aim is to rid the world of terrorism then our actions to date have utterly failed.
What's to be done? Well something somewhat more intelligent than to date.

I think I think that it is still terrorism and not a war?

They seem to have money, and means, but may lack manpower?

Just listened to two prominent Muslims on the Today programme speaking out against violent extremism carried out under what they described as a thin veneer of religion. I couldn't hear their names but they post as #notinmyname and #inspire. Worth a listen.
I hope they reach out to some of the young people tempted by ISIS propaganda.

The UK and the USA invaded a country, Iraq, with the sole aim of regime change whitewave under the 'pretence' of searching for WMD. It was clear from the start this was a presence as the UN Weapons Inspectors had searched and found none. The vitriol directed at Blair was totally justified.

That was a different scenario.

IS is not a country. It is an occupying force in Iraq and Syria. We have been invited in by the elected governmentof Iraq to help fight this force through air strikes. Granted we have not been invited into Syris, though Russia has.

Unfortunately the message of extreme Islam has taken hold in other countries in the same way as a cancer seeds itself throughout the body when it metastasises and these cells are much harder to root out. But if the 'caliphate' that is IS is destroyed then large caches of arms will be destroyed and training facilities disrupted, and there won't be anywhere with the same 'pull' for radicalised Muslims to 'go' to.

Also, those people who live in the areas occupied by IS will be free from the beheadings and rule of terror imposed by IS.

It's a place to start.

Excellent posts Anya
Those talking of world war 3 should calm down.

History indicates periodic mass migration does occur

With mass bombing there will not be many left to be free of beheading, is having your body blown to bits a better death than beheading? Not forgetting if limbs are blown off there is little medical help for the maimed

Anya what a great analysis! Only thing left is the ones here in the UK. How do we stop its spread and growth here?

The 'casualties of war' indeed include those beheaded by IS Anniebach thank you for reminding us of that, and also those burned to death by them in cages.

Should we include the rape of women and children too? Yes, I think so.

And those killed in Kenya, Paris, Mumbai, Peshawar....... the list goes on doesn't it?

freddy I wish I knew

Who decides what is appropriate on any thread? If someone feels strongly about something this should be a safe place for their thoughts and comments to be aired. Some of you are very judgemental.

Who are you referring to, luckyfour?
It's really better to be open with those you disagree with, rather than making veiled references o other posters.

Everybody seems to forget IS as we know it today was started in 1999. JAMA AT AL-TAWHID WAL-JIHAD.

The invasion of Iraq happened in 2003.

We know that Blair 'lied' to parliament with weapons of mass destruction /sexed up documents and I hope the likes of Blair and Alistair Campbell get their just reward but Chilcot will probably dumb it down, I hope not.

The invasion of Iraq is widely viewed as the reason for IS but it is not, it did however allow the cause to flourish and subsequent removal of the vile dictators such as Gadaffi and Saddam Hussein has allowed this. It is forgotten by so many that the likes of Gadaffi and Hussein ruled by fear, murder, torture and genocide and there was a real and present danger that Libya was going to see lives lost on a massive scale. Some say the West should have kept their noses out , some see the desire to help those in danger but whatever your view we are dealing with the worst of all outcomes for the West, the rise of the extremists to dominate the world and for the desire of the Islamic State/Caliphate.

As Anya says IS is not a country, at this time! Since the Iraq/Afghanistan wars the various factions of Islamic extremist groups such as Al qeada/Moujahadin etc. have widened their scope and they were not addressed. Their desire for an Islamic State/Caliphate is now so well funded, intelligent , numbered and in place throughout the world we cannot look at beginning to defeat IS without the world uniting against it.

Russia is now looking to be working closer with other countries since the G20 in Antalya but the United Nations must get a back bone and so must all the peoples of the world because the desire for the Caliphate is not only gainging momentum it is an imminent threat to all of us , it has been for years .

Time to take our heads out the sand and it will mean lives will be lost but lives will be lost and are being so on a daily basis because of the barbarity of IS but we are being shielded by their horrors and express our empathy and disgust but it will not stop IS will it.

We express our disgust but if we saw the piles of slaughtered bodies, the barbaric murders taking place daily, the life of the children and young women being used as sex slaves we might start to fear a little more what the desire for the Islamic State is, a murderous regime that hates us all in the West, who we are, what we are, our culture, our existence, they want to wipe us and Paris could well have been London/Manchester/Birmingham .

We are all groping in the dark trying to find a civilized way of dealing with IS and the terrifying fundamentalism that is sweeping the muslim world and directed at the west.

Some principles stand out for me:

- the response of the west must be within international law
- it must have an eye to the long term consequences and not just a short term response to atrocities
- it must avoid showy actions intended to make the point that we will not be cowed

I believe that the central plank of our response needs to be through intelligence and minutely targeted action, because, as others have rightly pointed out, IS is not a country. IS are hidden and covert, and it is through our intelligence services that we will defeat them. DC is right to be increasing the strength of our intelligence services.

In the meantime our best response must be to live our lives as normal: to go to concerts and football matches, to embrace tolerance of all races and religions, and to show by example that our way of life is to be cherished.

Agree Luckygirl