AS welcomes go, it can only be described as dreich – landing in a Scottish airport in wind, rain and cold.
As the Syrian refugees touched down in Glasgow yesterday, David Cameron was hotting up pressure on MPs to back airstrikes on their already devastated country.
It is reasonable to say the West was unprepared for the rise of Islamist terror groups and is horrified by their atrocities. But it is not reasonable to believe that sheer military might will blitz this threat out of existence.
It is not reasonable as it ignores the facts before us: the mess of the “global war on terror”. For example, despite so many years of military action, the Taliban remain in Afghanistan.The financial cost of mounting such operations – around £27 billion pounds – pales in comparison with their human toll, with almost 460 UK military personnel killed.
In a poll conducted by Kings College London earlier this year, 55 per cent of UK adults believed the British military campaign had made little to no difference in preventing terrorists launching attacks from Afghanistan.
Just 36 per cent thought it had improved security and stability there.
In Iraq, the situation is so complicated that the Chilcot Report is still a distant possibility six years on.
All this should serve as a red flag to the UK Government, a warning about the caution with which military intervention in another nation must be approached.
When that country is Syria – divided, complex Syria – the notion of making quick decisions for a simple solution would seem laughable, if it were not so sad.
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