Public support declines to supporting intervention in Syria, due to lack of overarching political strategy.
59% approved of intervention in November and today it has fallen to 48%.
The poll conducted by YouGov asked whether "Would you approve or disapprove of the RAF taking part in the airstrikes operation against ISIS/Islamic State in Syria?". The results on 17th November four days after the Paris attacks stated 59% were for intervention in ousting the so-called Islamic State from Syria. However, results today of the same poll presented a significant decline in support for the UK taking part in airstrikes to just 48%.
The change of support is reflected by the incoherent strategy posed by the Prime Minister, the rationale to assist the 70,000 moderate fighters that Cameron will rely on, is questionable. As currently, there are a vast number of rebel groups in Syria, that have different ideological standing, and they will not leave their focus on fighting Assad and do the west's bidding on ISIS. Furthermore, if there are exactly 70,000 'moderate' forces why hasn't there been an effective attack on Raqqa the heartland of the caliphate.
After the Paris attacks, the results of the poll were higher due to the emotional elements caused by the tragic events in France, and the risk of an attack on home soil may have led to the spike in support.The vote in Parliament tonight will most likely result in support in regards to intervention as Corbyn has not been able to align his party into voting against military action. The significant in-fighting at the backbench has resulted in the shadow defence secretary Hilary Benn showing support for the government.
The debate in parliament will last for ten hours as we have learnt from Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, our decision must not be solely based on military power, but have an exit strategy in place that isn't eminent of past failures. The end result in Libya has led to ISIL entering the country by exploiting the security vacuum. Therefore, entering a conflict where already 10 million Syrians are displaced and over 200,000 dead and the emergence of some of the most violent radical groups is looking more like hope over reality.
