A former head of the army has told Sky News he believes there will need to be a debate on sending British troops to fight Islamic State if other options are unsuccessful.
The UK has carried out airstrikes against IS in Iraq, but not Syria, and has also provided equipment and training to local forces.
But there is a deep reluctance to commit boots on the ground to the fight, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying when the Commons approved airstrikes that sending combat troops would be “wrong”.
Lord Dannatt told Sky’s Dermot Murnaghan that the limited steps taken were not likely to be enough to defeat the jihadists who have seized control of large areas of northern Iraq and Syria.
“If this mission is right, and task is right and everything else has failed, there has got to be a debate about whether a least worst option is to provide boots on the ground,” he said.
“I’m not calling for it now but I think we need to watch this very carefully.”
His comments came after a video was released showing the beheading of Japanese hostage of Kenji Goto by IS.
Professor Peter Neumann, a terrorism expert at King’s College London, said the airstrikes had slowed Islamic State’s momentum, as seen in the success of Kurdish forces in driving the jihadists out of the Syrian town of Kobani.
“They cannot be defeated militarily but that does not mean military means are completely useless,” he told Murnaghan.
He added that the militants could only be ultimately defeated once people within Iraq and Syria rose up and forced them out.
Lord Dannatt admitted there had be a reluctance to see soldiers engage in combat against IS following the experiences in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
And he added there was unlikely to be any major policy changes on the issue until after the General Election.
“We won’t see any major political initiatives this side of 7 May. Can we wait until then? I’m not too sure,” he said.
Lord Dannatt said many of the problems with IS had come from the failures to deal with the power vacuum after Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003.
He said there was poor planning by the allied forces following the overthrowing of the Iraqi president and “we’re reaping a little bit of what we sowed”.
“What happened after the military success in 2003 that removed Saddam Hussein was there wasn’t an adequate plan about what happened next,” the former Chief of the General Staff said.
“And when you’ve not got a plan, there’s a vacuum, all sorts of malignant forces can move in, and that’s what happened.
“When you’ve lost control of the situation, you have lost control and I think a lot of what we’re seeing now is as a result of that poor planning in 2003 and 2004.
“So I’m afraid we’re reaping a little bit of what we sowed but we have to face facts, we have to face the circumstances we find ourselves in, put our best foot forward and really confront this.”
Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/troops-may-least-worst-option-fight-120159468.html
Troops May Be 'Least Worst Option' In IS Fight
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