MP highlights danger of ‘Fog of War’
Please find attached John’s piece in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday, arguing against extending military air strikes to Syria.
John said,
“The short-term effect of British air strikes will be marginal. But as we intervene more, so we become more responsible for events on the ground – and lay ourselves open to the unintended consequences of the ‘fog of war’.”
“Without a comprehensive strategy, air strikes will simply reinforce the West’s long-term failure in the region generally at a time when there are already too many aircraft chasing too few targets.”
“Just as in previous ill-advised Western interventions, a strong pattern emerges: time and time again the executive makes a ‘convincing’ case, often with supporting intelligence sources, and time and time again it turns out to be wrong.”
Ends
Word Count: 146
Date: 30th November 2015
Notes to Editors:
• John is a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and a former soldier. He opposed military intervention in Syria in 2013, as well as our interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan post-2006 and Libya.
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