The powers that be within the UK are apparently running scared at the idea of any kind of British military intervention within Iraq. This is according to an ex-senior general within the British army, whose comments come amid mounting US pressure on Britain to join their plans for a new invasion of the troubled Gulf state.
Radical Islamic insurgents are sweeping across northern areas of Iraq, convinced that they will be able to turn Iraq and Syria into a joint caliphate. A caliphate is a mediaeval ideal whereby the leader is regarded as being a “successor to Muhammad”, although with the complete turmoil the idea brought as leaders battled for the position through the ages, it was widely disregarded by most in the 1920’s. However, many Islamic scholars still teach the following verse to their pupils:
“Prophethood will remain with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain, then Allah will raise it up whenever he wills to raise it up. Afterwards, there will be a Caliphate that follows the guidance of Prophethood remaining with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, He will raise it up whenever He wills to raise it up. Afterwards, there will be a reign of violently oppressive rule and it will remain with you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, there will be a reign of tyrannical rule and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then, Allah will raise it up whenever He wills to raise it up. Then, there will be a Caliphate that follows the guidance of Prophethood.”
— As-Silsilah As-Sahihah, vol. 1, no. 5
It is thought that the insurgents are hopeful that this can be the beginning of the “reign of violently oppressive rule.” They have made progress since their invasion to the North, pushing back Kurdish troops despite US aerial bombardment.
Cameron Clinging to Popularity
David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, has point blank refused to offer any kind of support to the US military operation, instead opting to drop aid to the thousands of innocent people taking shelter from the Islamic State on Sinjar mountain.
The simple facts are that the majority of the British public have no interest in wanting to get involved with Middle Eastern conflicts ever again, and with a General Election in just 9 months time, Cameron is understandably more focused on trying not to put a foot so wrong that his leadership – which is already under question – takes a further hit from an ill-advised foreign policy decision.
Cameron attempted, back in 2013, to sign Britain up for some Syrian airstrikes but he was outvoted in Parliament. Much of the negative feeling towards any overseas interventions remain on the back of Tony Blair’s “sexed up” dossier which claimed that Saddam Hussein was capable of launching a nuclear attack on the UK within seconds. As a result of the grossly overblown document, Britain joined forces with the US, fought an un-winnable war, lost 179 British soldiers, spent millions of pounds, and drew criticism from all corners of the globe. Nobody seems keen on ever repeating the mistakes of Blair again.