Why britain said no to syria

Defence secretary backs US response to gas attack but says Britain is not committed to military action against Assad. Sir Michael Fallon said the UK would not get directly involved in action with combat troops or aircraft in Syria without parliamentary approval.

But while he made clear that the decision to launch dozens of missiles on to a Syrian airbase in the early hours of Friday was a US one, he said Britain believed it was the right move. He urged Russia to learn a lesson from the action, suggesting President Vladimir Putin was the key figure to end the war. Fully support US action after deplorable chemical attacks. Well, I've got news for them; he is well on the way to doing so. The West has condemned the bombing in Aleppo, yet similar attacks were being carried out in the Iraqi city of Mosul and in Yemen without the same amount of criticism from Britain, he claimed.

He went on: "We don't talk about atrocities; we don't talk about war crimes, although they are indisputably being committed in both those theatres.

The former ambassador said "we will be lucky" if those campaigns ended in the evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters on green buses, as was the case in Aleppo.

The Foreign Office said a political solution and transition away from Assad were the "only way to end the suffering of the Syrian people". A spokesman added: "The Assad regime has the blood of hundreds of thousands on its hands. There is no way it can unite and bring stability to Syria.

Aleppo 'back under government control'. UK 'partly responsible' for Aleppo tragedy. Image source, Reuters. President Bashar al-Assad's forces have regained control of Aleppo. That prompted calls for future debates on Syria. Britain has said there are no plans for future strikes against Syria. But she will be mindful of how military action can backfire. Opinion polls suggest that most Britons do not support military action, with one by Survation taken after the strikes were launched showing 40 percent of the 2, people asked opposed the action.

Some 36 percent supported the strikes.