Need for a large-scale and inclusive fight against ISIL

On 26 September 2014, the British Parliament voted in favour of British military strikes in Iraq targeted at ISIL. This decision followed a request to the UN Security Council by the Government of Iraq for support in confronting the ISIL menace. This means that we and other states have a clear basis in international law for action.

There is now a substantial international coalition in place, including Turkey and the UK, committed to confronting and defeating ISIL. We have a comprehensive strategy to do that – with the political, diplomatic, humanitarian and military components needed if we are to succeed.

ISIL threatens us all. Deir al-Zor is a province in Eastern Syria. Home to the al-Sheitaat tribe, it was captured by ISIL last month. 700 tribesmen were murdered in cold blood, many beheaded.

The vast majority were civilians – Sunni Muslims as it happens – who refused to take an oath of allegiance to ISIL’s sick extremist world view – and who paid with their lives.

They are not alone. Across Syria and Northern Iraq thousands of ordinary people have suffered the same fate.

ISIL has plans to expand its borders well beyond Iraq and Syria, and to carry out terrorist atrocities right across the world.

Military action will have its part to play in defeating ISIL.  But we all know it is not the panacea.  The root cause of the ISIL threat is an extremist ideology. As the Head of the Turkish Religious Affairs Ministry pointed out, this is nothing to do with Islam, a peaceful religion which inspires countless acts of generosity every day. ISIL is abusing the name of this great faith in using the most brutal forms of terrorism to force people to accept a warped world view.

We need to undercut support for ISIL.  Governments that only govern for some of their people cause the deep resentment that feeds extremism.

In Iraq the failure of the al-Maliki government to represent all of the people drove some of them into the arms of the extremists. Now the new PM al-Abadi represents hope for a new governance deal.  The UK and Turkey support the creation of a new and genuinely inclusive government capable of uniting Iraqis of all races and creeds whether they be Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Turkmen, Christian or any other part of Iraq’s rich kaleidoscope.

In Syria, Assad has not listened to Syrians’ wishes.  He has massacred his people and destroyed his country.  The UK and Turkey support a political transition and an end to Assad’s brutality. Doing a deal with Assad will not defeat ISIL – because the bias and the brutality of the Assad regime was and is one of the most powerful recruiting tools for the extremists. Syria needs what every country needs: an inclusive, representative, democratic government that can look after the interests of all of its people. Assad can never lead such a government.

In tackling the ISIL menace, we must also be inclusive internationally, engaging the widest possible coalition of countries in this worldwide effort. ISIL is a threat to us all. But the greatest threat is to the region. Turkey and a number of Arab countries are already committed to taking part in the action to degrade ISIL. That is welcome.

Finally, when the safety and security of our people is at stake, we must be uncompromising in our response. We are introducing new powers in the UK to ensure that British nationals trying to join ISIL  don’t reach Turkey, let alone Syria or Iraq. We are strengthening our ability to seize passports to stop suspects travelling. We will strip British identity from dual nationals. We will ask airlines to comply with our no fly lists and to implement tough new security screening requirements.

On the global stage, the UK secured a Security Council Resolution which will disrupt ISIL  finance , and  sanction those who are ISIL recruits . It also calls on countries to do all they can to prevent foreign fighters joining the extremist cause.

We should also – together – do more to build the capability of the legitimate authorities fighting the extremists.

The UK is  therefore supplying equipment directly to Kurdish Peshmerga forces. We are strengthening the resilience of military forces in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan. And British Tornado and surveillance aircraft have already been helping with intelligence gathering and logistics to help support those taking on ISIL in Iraq.

We are facing an evil against which the whole of the world is uniting. And, as ever in the cause of freedom, democracy and justice, Britain and Turkey –together- should play their part.