Gen Sir David Richards said there were contingency plans in place for a “very limited” response in the case of a worsening humanitarian situation in Syria.
The admission is the most serious warning yet that Britain is preparing for some sort of military involvement in Syria. In the past week, British policy has moved from admitting that it wanted to help organise the disparate rebel groups to discussing full blown military intervention.
It comes on the eve of a meeting of the National Security Council this week which will be devoted to the Syrian civil war.
In an interview on the Andrew Marr programme on BBC1, General Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, suggested that Britain could intervene militarily this winter when desert temperatures plummet and lives are put at risk.
He said it would be a "huge effort", adding: “The humanitarian situation this winter I think will deteriorate and that may well provoke calls to intervene in a limited way. » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Sunday, November 11, 2012
My comments:
This is stupid. This is ridiculous. Leave Bashar Al-Assad where he is. Toppling him will lead to another hardline, Islamist state. What idiots we have at the top of our political establishment, what idiots we have at the top of our military. Can't this country keep its bleeding nose out of other people's squabbles for once? Does this little island have to involve itself in every conflict in the world? Let the Saudis sort it out! Let other Muslim nations sort it out! Why the hell should our troops risk life and limb for this non-cause? – © Mark
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Gen Sir David Richards has got to be stupid if he is mulling the idea of war in Syria. What does he want to start: the next world war? – © Mark
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AGAIN, we are going to do the Saudis' dirty work for them. One can only shake one's head. The British establishment is worse than stupid; it's criminal. We'll send our troops to risk life and limb for a country which finances the jihad against us. How stupid is that? – © Mark
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