Britain to Send Tornado Jets to Iraq , Cameron Considers Arming Kurds

Local Editor

Britain is edging closer to direct military action in northern Iraq with the Government announcing that Tornado fighters will take to the skies over the country for the first time since 2003.

David Cameron is also considering arming Kurdish fighters taking on the forces of the so-called "IS", and Downing Street has not ruled out putting British troops on the ground to provide safe passage for thousands of people trapped on an isolated mountainside.

The increasingly grim situation was underlined yesterday when an RAF C130 transport plane had to abort its aid drop of water and supplies to desperate refugees for fear the bundles would strike the crowds of people who had congregated on the ground to receive it.

"The crew made the responsible decision not to carry out the air drop to ensure that the lives of those in the area would not be put at risk," an RAF spokesman said.

The Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, continued to insist on Monday that the Government did not "envisage" a combat role for British forces "at present".
But a meeting of the government emergency response committee COBR authorized the deployment of "a small number" of Tornados to the region. Downing Street said they would be used in "surveillance capability" to gather "better situational awareness to help with humanitarian effort". However, the Tornados do have the capability for air strikes.
The meeting also agreed that the UK "should look at how the UK could play a role" in getting equipment to Kurdish forces so they are "better able to counter Isis forces".

"Some sort of force on the ground may well be considered," the spokeswoman said. "The work on this is in the planning stage and then decisions will need to be taken."
But the spokeswoman said recalling Parliament was "not on the cards at this stage" despite calls from some backbenchers for MPs to be brought back. Andrew Robathan, a Defense minister until last month's reshuffle, said he believed there was an appetite among the public to help the people of Iraq and Kurdistan.
"There's many ways one can use military action. I think, for instance, air strikes, or indeed the use of [drones], from a suitable launch site, are ways that it can be done - dare one say it - surgically without putting troops on the ground," he told the BBC.

"I think we had our fingers pretty badly burnt in Iraq, as did the Americans. There's no appetite, of course, to have proper troops on the ground; however, the idea of a few observers perhaps directing our operations is a slightly different matter."

Lord Dannatt, the former head of the Army, said the UK should consider military intervention as it shared "some culpability" with the US for the breakdown in Iraqi society which led to the crisis.
"The air strikes need to be stepped up and they need to be well-targeted. It may need people on the ground to make sure the air strikes are accurate and therefore effective," he said. Asked if that would mean the involvement of British forces, he said: "The United States in the lead and us in support. We all bear some responsibility. We have some culpability for the breakdown in society in Iraq post-2003, and so it is difficult for us to say ‘not our problem'."

Jack Straw, the former Foreign Secretary, said last night he was "pleased to hear" that RAF Tornados had been sent to Iraq and that the move was "a step in the right direction". He also admitted that Britain was "getting close" to needing to recall Parliament.
"If you're going to have more active intervention with aero planes striking at "IS" columns or drones, you need a lot of intelligence and the next stage is to send Tornados," he told ITV. "I'm actually pleased to hear [they have been deployed] because Tornados are not machines that can deliver humanitarian assistance. It's a step in the right direction."

Asked whether politicians should return to Westminster to discuss the conflict, he said: "My view is we're getting close to the need to recall Parliament - both in respect of the situation in northern Iraq and also Gaza."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team