Cameron Not Abandoning Plans for UK Parliament Vote on Syria Strikes

Spokeswoman: Russia's Involvement a 'Complicating Factor'

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s high-profile defeat after seeking parliamentary authorization for a war against Syria in 2013 may still sting, but his government still insists they are hoping to eventually hold another vote seeking the same authorization they failed to get last time.

Spokeswoman Helen Bower denied media reports that the Cameron government was close to scrapping the planned vote outright, saying Cameron still wants to eventually have the vote but Russia’s involvement in Syria is a “complicating factor.”

The more complicating factor, however, is the lack of political support for another war, with the vehemently antiwar Jeremy Corbyn now leading the Labor Party, and likely to put even more effort into blocking the effort than his predecessors would.

Despite parliament explicitly barring Britain from any strikes against Syria, the Cameron government has occasionally launched strikes against ISIS inside Syria, claiming those warplanes were “embedded” with Canadian forces that were attacking Syria. Now that Canada is withdrawing outright, this flimsy excuse will no longer be available.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.