{"id":6274,"date":"2015-12-03T08:54:02","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T08:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=6274"},"modified":"2015-12-03T08:54:02","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T08:54:02","slug":"uk-approves-airstrikes-against-isil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/uk-approves-airstrikes-against-isil\/","title":{"rendered":"UK approves airstrikes against ISIL"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cameron\"<\/a>Britain is to launch airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria after the country\u2019s parliament overwhelmingly approved plans for military action on Wednesday.
\nThe House of Commons voted by 397 votes to 223 late on Wednesday night to accept the government\u2019s motion following a debate that lasted 11 hours and saw 106 lawmakers speak.
\nThe decision grants the U.K. permission to join the U.S.-led coalition of countries bombing ISIL targets in Syria. British fighter jets, which already have permission to bomb ISIL in Iraq, could start air campaigns within hours, the BBC reported.
\nThe issue hugely divided Britain\u2019s opposition Labour Party, with as many as a third of its lawmakers thought to have rejected leader Jeremy Corbyn\u2019s pacifist position by supporting the government.
\nAn earlier motion in parliament to reject military action was voted down 390 to 211.
\nEarlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron had urged lawmakers to endorse U.K. airstrikes against ISIL in Syria in order to \u201ckeep the British people safe\u201d, saying the plans were \u201cnot about whether we want to fight terrorism, it\u2019s about how best we do that\u201d.
\n\u201cGovernments of all political colors in this country have had to fight terrorism and had to take the people with them as they do so,\u201d Cameron said, adding that he respected people who had a different view than him.
\nThe U.K. premier came under fire during the debate for refusing to apologize for suggesting opponents of his plans were \u201cterrorist sympathizers\u201d.
\nCameron was widely reported to have used the term to describe Corbyn and his allies during a meeting of lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party on Tuesday night.
\nAddressing Cameron during the debate, Corbyn said the term \u201cboth demeans the office of the prime minister and I believe undermines the seriousness of deliberations we are having today\u201d.
\nHe called on the U.K. premier to make an immediate apology for his remarks, but Cameron stared straight back at Corbyn in the House of Commons chamber without appearing to respond.
\nCorbyn said he opposed the proposed action because it was \u201cill-thought out\u201d.
\n\u201cI urge members on all sides of the House to think very carefully about the responsibility that lies with them today,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cDo we send in bombers not totally aware of what all the consequences are going to be, or do we pause, not send them in and instead put all of our efforts into bringing about a peaceful, humanitarian and just political settlement to the terrible situation faced by the people in Syria?\u201d he asked.
\nMost lawmakers in the governing Conservative Party supported the motion, along with dozens from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
\nBut most Labour lawmakers opposed the motion, backed by the Greens, Scottish and Welsh nationalists and the Northern Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party, or SDLP.<\/p>\n

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