Today’s report by the defence select committee, of which I am part, does not pull its punches on the failure of the UK to engage effectively against the extremists that continue to peddle terror from their base in Iraq and Syria.
So far the government’s actions to tackle the threat posed by Daesh – the committee has decided to follow other nations in using the Arabic name given to the militants rather than referring to them as ‘Islamic State’ – have been minimal, poorly co-ordinated and lacking in any kind of over-arching strategy.
The conditions on the ground is worrying enough: Islamic State militants currently have near-total control of an area the same size as Great Britain. This area includes Iraq’s second city, Mosul and numerous other major towns and strategic points in the area. The liberation of Kobane from Islamic State by Kurdish forces last month was an all too rare chink of light in a conflict that has displaced millions, destabilised neighbouring states and provided a safe haven for around 20,000 foreign fighters, including at least one of those involved in the horrific Paris attacks. Just this week, we collectively shuddered at the sort of horror that Islamic State are capable of, with the burning alive of captured Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh.
These are not conventional foes, and it is increasingly clear that conventional means will be insufficient to defeat them. Air strikes by the international coalition arrayed against Islamic State, including the UK, are having some impact, but they will not be a solution in and of themselves.
Any British discussion of a response to events in Iraq will inevitably be coloured by the continued political fallout from the conflict of 2003. But that cannot be sufficient justification to turn a blind eye to the perilous situation there. The majority of those of us who seek and urge a more effective and strategic British plan of action in response to Islamic State are not talking about a return to British boots on the ground in the region – at least not in any combat role. Nor are we blind to the many and conspicuous failings of the Iraqi government in Baghdad, whose occasional retreat into sectarianism, blinkered approach to corruption and failures to deliver economic or social justice have unfortunately contributed to allowing Islamic State to gather strength in the region. In fact, I believe this is precisely why we need to see a sustained engagement by the British government in support of a new Iraq, one that involves all parts of government. As the defence committee notes, in far too many cases, the British response to Islamic State and broader issues in Iraq falls between departmental stools.
Today’s report exposes the inadequacy of the response. You might think that the Ministry of Defence has an interest in supporting and developing the Iraqi defence forces, yet in fact, there are just three UK military personnel in Iraq outside Kurdistan. There is similar lack of commitment from the Foreign Office, with the political section of the embassy in Baghdad consists of three junior employees, and the government shut down the embassy in Basra in 2011. The Department for International Development also has negligible presence: there is no ground office in Iraq and while there is welcome assistance going in for immediate humanitarian needs, there is nothing happening to support longer-term development goals. Whatever side you took regarding Britain’s intervention in Iraq, there would surely be universal agreement that the UK should remain an active player in helping the nation establish its governmental, economic and security apparatus.
We don’t need to be returning to combat boots on the ground to make a difference in Iraq. Islamic State represents a clear threat not only to the region but also to the west, and the UK is right to be taking part in the aerial military operations against this horrific group. But this is a fight, long-term, that will need to be won on several fronts.
That has to include a long-term commitment to help Iraq to reach its potential as a secure, prosperous and equitable nation. If we fail to do what we can to stabilise the country now, we will end up back in the same place in a few years time with British citizens again under threat from the latest extremist terror to emanate from the region.
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John Woodcock MP is chair of Progress. He tweets @JWoodcockMP
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