On tomorrow’s debate in the UK House of Commons

Wrestling with vote on Friday as I'm yet to see the motion. ISIS are clearly monsters but are air strikes the right approach to stop them?
— Sarah Champion MP (@SarahChampionMP) September 24, 2014

Tomorrow will see a debate in the British Parliament on whether the UK should join military action in Iraq against ISIS (Islamic State / ISIS / ISIL / DAESH)in response to a request from the Iraqi Government.

Yes, British parliamentarians should support military action in this case, but their focus should be firmly on the protection of civilians. This means not just acting to stop IS atrocities, but also demanding of Britain’s ally, the Iraqi Government, that Iraq’s military takes proper steps to protect civilians, and that sectarian militias currently fighting alongside Iraq’s army be replaced with non-sectarian professional military forces as quickly as possible.

Related reading:

• Iraq: on the frontline with the Shia fighters taking the war to Isis. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, The Guardian, 24 August 2014.
  
• Government Shelling Of Civilian Areas In Iraq Continues Despite Premier Abadi’s Pledge Not To. Joel Wing, Musings on Iraq, 18 September 2014.
  
• Can PM Abadi Appeal To Iraq’s Sunnis? Joel Wing, Musings on Iraq, 24 September 2014.
  

Syria is not the topic of tomorrow’s debate, but Syria is where IS has its main bases, and Iraq has also called for the international community to help defend them by striking IS in Syria. Just as Iraq is entitled to call on allies to defend it on its own territory, it is equally entitled under the UN Charter’s Article 51 to call for help to defend itself against the threat from Syrian territory, including by strikes within Syrian territory.

If the UK Parliament comes to debate action in Syria in the near future, the focus there should also be on protecting civilians. That would require tackling Assad’s terror as well as IS.

In 2003 I resigned over Iraq, but in 1992 I called for intervention in Bosnia. This is a 1992 moment, not a 2003.
— John Denham (@JohnDenhamMP) September 24, 2014

@JohnDenhamMP @NFZSyria It's been a 1992 moment in #Syria for some time. Sadly our @UKLabour party has been slow in calling for action

— Bob Deed (@BobDeed) September 24, 2014