Britain is sending six Typhoon fighter jets to Cyprus to guard against potential retaliation by the Assad regime in the event of air strikes against Syria.
Britain is sending six Typhoon fighter jets to Cyprus to guard against potential retaliation by the Assad regime in the event of airstrikes against Syria Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Ben Farmer, Peter Dominiczak and Roland Oliphant in Moscow
10:44AM BST 29 Aug 2013
Syria conflict: latest
RAF sources said the fighters would be stationed in RAF Akrotiri to act as a “defensive shield” for the base in the event of attack by “rogue aircraft”.
The Typhoon fighters will play a “defensive counter-air” role and are not equipped to launch missile strikes on ground targets themselves. Sources said the deployment was “purely a prudent and precautionary measure”.
But the deployment will increase speculation that military action against Bashar al Assad’s regime is imminent, even before the British parliament has debated intervention.
An RAF spokesman said: “We can confirm that as part of ongoing contingency planning, 6 RAF Typhoon interceptor fast jets are deploying this morning to Akrotiri in Cyprus.
Related Articles
_ Syria conflict: latest - 29 Aug 2013
_ Miliband accused of 'playing politics' over refusal to back PM - 29 Aug 2013
_ Dan Hodges: Miliband changed his mind on Syria vote - 29 Aug 2013
_ Nick Clegg 'wrestling' with Syria call - 29 Aug 2013
_ Cameron backs down on urgent Syria strikes amid growing revolt - 28 Aug 2013
_ Britain launches last-ditch bid for UN approval for strikes - 28 Aug 2013
"This is purely a prudent and precautionary measure to ensure the protection of UK interests and the defence of our Sovereign Base Areas at a time of heightened tension in the wider region. This is a movement of defensive assets operating in an air-to-air role only.”
The Typhoons flying from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire will be fitted with the advanced medium range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM), the advanced short range air to air missile (ASRAAM) and a Mauser cannon.
Separately, the Russian navy said it plans to reinforce its Mediterranean flotilla with elements of its Northern fleet are part of a “routine rotation” and are unconnected to the growing crisis in Syria.
A senior member of the Russian General Staff was quoted saying at least two powerful vessels would be redeployed from the Arctic and the Atlantic to “adjust” Russia’s naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
“The well known situation currently developing in the eastern Mediterranean required some adjustments to the make up of the naval flotilla. It the next few days it will be joined by a large anti submarine vessel from the Northern Fleet,” the source was quoted as saying.
“Later it will also be joined by the missile cruiser Moskva, currently on manoeuvres in the north Atlantic and will soon begin a transatlantic crossing towards the straits of Gibraltar.”
But the navy moved quickly to distance itself from the comments, saying in a statement to Russian media that any deployment to the area was part of a routine rotation of vessels and had nothing to do with the Syrian crisis.
The announcements came before what is expected to be a charged day in the British parliament, where Ed Miliband could deal a humiliating blow to the Prime Minister by refusing to back David Cameron’s watered down motion on the “principle” of military action in Syria.
Despite the Prime Minister backing down and agreeing to delay a military attack in Syria, Labour is still refusing to support Mr Cameron’s position.
It raises the prospect of Mr Cameron being embarrassed in the Commons despite agreeing to Labour demands over the need for a second Commons vote before any missile strikes on Syria. Labour has said it will be “pressing ahead” with its own amendment to the Government motion because it “sets out [a] clearer criteria of what must be done before any military action is taken”.
Mr Cameron last night said he will wait for a report by United Nations weapons inspectors before seeking the approval of MPs for “direct British involvement” in the Syrian intervention.
Downing Street has accused Mr Miliband of "playing politics" with security issues and attempting to "divide the nation and the House of Commons".
MPs were due to debate the issue in Parliament today and vote on the principle of military strikes.
However, Mr Miliband has told Sky News that he will order his MPs to vote for the Labour amendment.
He said that he is not willing to have the mistakes of the Iraq war and its build-up “made again”.
“People will remember the mistakes that were made in Iraq and I’m not willing to have those mistakes made again,” Mr Miliband said.
“And one of the most important lessons from Iraq is about giving the United Nations…the proper chance to do its work and I believe that if we try to make that decision today on military action we wouldn’t have been giving the United Nations the proper time to do that work.”
He added: “The right thing to do is to put forward Labour’s amendment.”
He said he is not “against” military action and that the actions of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad “can’t simply be ignored”.
“But if we are to undertake military action then certain conditions would have to be met and what our amendment does today is it lays out a roadmap to a decision for Britain on the conditions that would have to be met.”
Asked which way he will be telling his MPs to vote in the Commons Mr Miliband said: “I’ll be advising my party to vote for our amendment.”
A Labour source added: “We will be pressing ahead with our amendment. We believe it gives a clearer road map [and] sets out clearer criteria of what must be done before any military action is taken.”
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said he is "wrestling" with the decision of whether to support military action.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "A terrible war crime has been committed a week ago. We face a judgment, a choice, everybody does by the way, every single MP. I'm struggling with this, I'm wrestling with this."
He added: "These are no easy choices to make and there is no risk-free choice to make."
Mr Clegg said all the evidence, including the JIC findings that are being published today, showed that Syrian opposition forces were not capable of carrying out the chemical attack.
He told LBC 97.3: "All the evidence, and we will publish the findings of the Joint Intelligence Committee, their key findings, later this morning, all the evidence points in the same direction, namely that the opposition could not have done this.
"They didn't have control over the chemical stockpiles, they didn't have the weaponry in the artillery to deliver them in the way that they were delivered.
"It was in a part of Damascus, an eastern suburb of Damascus which has been subject to shelling by regime forces for several days before the attack took place and several days afterwards as well."
Asked if he would support the use of force, Mr Clegg said: "Once we've heard from the weapons inspectors, once we've brought this to the UN security council ... if then the case is made that the only way we can respond, the most effective way we can respond, in a legal, proportionate and targeted fashion to deter the further use of chemical weapons, is an isolated, one-off military initiative then I will vote for that."
There were "legal, moral and other grounds" to support action without a UN resolution, he added.
The Prime Minister was on Wednesday forced to say he will now wait for a report by United Nations weapons inspectors before seeking the approval of MPs for “direct British involvement” in the Syrian intervention.
Downing Street said the decision to wait for the UN was based on the “deep concerns” the country still harbours over the Iraq War.
MPs had been recalled to vote on a motion on Thursday expected to sanction military action. Instead, after a Labour intervention, they will debate a broader motion calling for a “humanitarian response”.
A second vote would be required before any British military involvement. This could now take place next week.
In a statement on Wednesday night Downing Street said that it only wanted to proceed on a “consensual basis” and was now wary about becoming embroiled in another divisive conflict in the Middle East in the wake of Iraq.
Senior sources had previously suggested that Britain would take part in strikes as soon as this weekend which meant an emergency recall of Parliament was necessary on Thursday.
However, following Labour threatening not to support the action and senior military figures expressing concerns over the wisdom of the mission, the Prime Minister on Wednesday night agreed to put British involvement on hold.
The climbdown was an embarrassment for Mr Cameron as he was determined to play a leading role in British military strikes, which had been expected this weekend.
The Times newspaper has reported that a Government source said of Mr Miliband: ““No 10 and the Foreign Office think Miliband is a f****** **** and a copper-bottomed s***.”
Labour had on Wednesday demanded the Prime Minister agree to hold a second vote in the Commons after the UN inspectors concluded their work.
However, during a tense telephone call between the two party leaders at 5.15pm Mr Cameron “totally ruled out” giving MPs a second vote – which would have left Downing Street’s plan for a weekend offensive in tatters.
Labour then immediately announced that it would order its MPs to vote against the Government’s motion authorising military strikes. Just minutes before 7pm Downing Street was forced to redraft the planned motion saying that “before any direct British involvement … a further vote in the House of Commons will take place”.
On Wednesday night, a senior Conservative source said: “Labour has been playing politics when they should have been thinking about the national interest. Their position has changed continuously over the last 24 hours — finally ending in demands they had never even hinted at before.”
The Americans were consulted before Mr Cameron’s decision was announced and senior White House officials are said to have made it clear that they “respect the British Parliament”.
MPs will today be asked to support the Government’s motion which states that a “strong humanitarian response is required from the international community and that this may, if necessary, require military action that is legal, proportionate and focused on saving lives by preventing and deterring further use of Syria’s chemical weapons.”
However, crucially the motion then adds: “Before any direct British involvement in such action a further vote of the House of Commons will take place.”
Ahead of Thursday’s vote, MPs will be given a dossier of evidence by Downing Street that Whitehall sources have described as “utterly compelling” proof of Assad’s involvement in chemical atrocities against his own people.
It will include details of YouTube videos believed to show atrocities being committed by the Syrian regime. Mr Hague had on Wednesday reiterated that Britain must react urgently to do “what is necessary” to protect civilians and prevent further chemical weapons attacks by Assad’s regime.
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
29082013
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment