What ideas are there instead of bombing?

It isn't that we will do nothing - it is just that the action we take will be not bombing the hell out of people. How many innocent people are worth killing to one member of IS 1?2?3? A dozen?.

How many European cities have to be attacked by them before we act?

I doubt we will be going to war to save "these poor people". It will be to protect our own, after Paris.

So presumably we leave these poor people to the horrors of IS and wash our hands of it! Ok we don't sell arms, but for certain someone else will! Of course we could then pat ourselves on our backs, and congratulate ourselves on the moral high ground that we would then occupy in the vain hope that other countries will follow suit, which I'm sure will be an enormous comfort to the people on the ground. Imo all we can do for the time being, is live in the world as it is, and hope and pray for better things, somewhere, somehow, but don't expect too much too soon, to avoid disappointment.

I read it the same as you, whitewave. Sorry, petra.

There are over 100 people waiting to be beheaded by the Saudi government, many of them because they are pro-democracy speakers, i.e., against the government.
This is the country to which we sell the most arms.
The US has agreed to sell over $1.9 billion worth of smart bombs to Saudi.
Wrong.
We are encouraging the Saudi government to carry on behaving the way it does.

Oh!!!!sorry petra

petra was agreeing with whitewave's post, if you read it properly.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-and-security-exporting-event-and-exhibition-support/defence-and-security-exporting-event-and-exhibition-support

A list of the arms fairs that the UK government is showing at.
We have just been selling arms to any comers in Dubai.

nothing secret about it, either Total madness.

Good post jd.

Yes dj absolutely. I think that the trouble is that just like a child so many people want instant action and just like a child we must learn that life isn't like that.
We must show so much more care and thought than that.

Thanks, Annie.

Petra, whitewave's post at 10.47 was in response to soon's post asking for percentages. It's soon that was wrong, not whitewave.

petra It wasn't me I was replying to soons enquiry about the %

Great post Jen

"The alternatives. Bombing is not the only available foreign policy. Among the many positive measures that could be taken are isolating Isis and other jihadi groups by ending arms sales to the most reactionary and authoritarian regimes in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. These are countries that sponsor terrorist networks in Syria. We should also pressure Turkey to stop allowing its borders to be used for the supply of arms and fighters into Syria. Crucially Britain and the US should pursue rather than impede peace negotiations."

From Stopthe war coalition. We sell arms to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, among others. We sell loads of weapons to Russia. George Galloway on Sunday Politics saying that you just need access to weapons to do what was done in Paris. We stop selling weapons that might get into the hands of IS.
This country has the biggest arms fair in the world in London every year in secret. How much of our exports is arms related?
Nato allies openly collaborating with Isil, according to Galloway.

We should never release the terrible dogs of war without giving it a huge amount of consideration. Haven't we learned that yet? Perhaps Cameron is reacting too hastily to Paris.

So glad I don't have to make these decisions.

I heard on the radio this morning that someone had asked Syrian refugees whether they supported bombing. They said no, because of the innocent casualties.

Whitewave. Your post @ 10.47. Not just wrong, very strange. How can someone talk of percentages, splits in a horror situation like this. Have some people NO IDEA what is going on in Syria.
Perhaps they could have someone with a questionaire as they get off the inflatable boat that they have just arrived on from Turkey.
Perhaps you could do it, Soontobe. Because you love a few facts and figures.

that was replying to Elegran

No it isn't! We have reconnaissance and Intelligence!

Raqqa to start with.

because it's too awful and ugly a thing to chat lightly about. Or to chat about at all.

Bombing is wrong , it will feed hatred and revenge

Durhanjen

How do you isolate IS

Finding their heartland and their heart and accurately targetting both is the tricky bit.

I believe we have to bomb IS in their heartland, but it should be done as a coalition with other countries, including America and Russia. Although we could wait forever for Obama to open his gob express an opinion.

70,000 people have replied with their views already.

That's what I mean, whitewave.
We isolate IS, rather than kill the innocent. Nobody so far has explained why drones are such a good thing when 90% of those killed are not those targeted.
I remember seeing an article about a Syrian family who owned three very large houses in different parts of Syria. When the first was bombed, they moved to the second. When that was bombed, they moved to the third. At the time of writing the article, they were living in cardboard tents at the side of the road, trying to get to Turkey and Europe after the third place had been bombed.
Before anyone asks who bombed them and says it wasn't us, it doesn't matter whose fault it was. They still had nowhere to live.

act.stopwar.org.uk/lobby/stopbombingsyria

A link to your MP to ask him/her to stop the bombing of Syria.