The UK must NOT be dragged into conflict after Donald Trump's missile strike in Syria
IT WAS a decisive military step, but not one that should go any further.
Donald Trump launched 59 cruise missiles at an airfield in Syria
After consultation with US Defense Secretary Mattis, President Donald Trump took the decision to send 59 cruise missiles into the Homs Shayrat air base.
The UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon lent Britain’s backing to the decision.
Henry Kissinger used to say if there’s a problem, how do I know whom to call in Europe.
Today, the US President knows that if he calls Theresa May or her lieutenants, Downing Street will be on side.
In Washington, President Trump’s four leading generals (McMasters, Dunford, Coats, Mattis) had a good week.
The President needed to respond to the gas attack on Kahan Sheikhoun and the generals told him how to do it.
The UK’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon lent Britain’s backing to the decision
Russian drone footage of area hit by US airstrike in Syria
They also told him how America’s so-called European allies would react. You need to know who will wash their hands if it goes wrong.
Every Intelligence analysis in the MOD says stay out
The generals may be new to Trump but they have been around NATO and the coalition for a long time.
They fought alongside the British in Afghanistan and Iraq. They sit on joint NATO councils. They exchange Intelligence analysis. The biggest military exercise in Europe today, Joint Warrior, has the Americans and British working with each other.
In the Gulf, Exercise Unified Trident recently was led by US Naval Forces Central Command but the command ship was the Royal Navy’s HMS Ocean.
Countries are divided over who they support
Defence Secretary General Mattis was in London early this week. Not Paris. Not Berlin. London.
He has British Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon’s mobile number.
Their one-to one relationship is about handling joint problems. North Korea with kilotons. ISIS. Al Qaeda. Yemen. Mosul. Syria and Iraq.
Impressive, but far enough.
What if the Homs bombing leads to a bigger fire-fight in Syria?
The airfield in Syria which Trump bombed
Or, what if Iran, the most powerful ally of Syria, runs a retaliatory operation that Trump feels he needs another 59 cruise missiles to handle and UK backing beyond joint UN statements? And what happens if that spreads to the Gulf where Britain has a new naval base in Bahrain? What if it gets out of hand?
The answer is that Trump must not expect the UK to do more than it does now.
The UK must not get dragged into further conflict. Every Intelligence analysis in the MOD says stay out when Fallon’s mobile rings.
It is best that Trump’s generals tell him that.