Glenn Greenwald: No strategic rationale why bombing Syria will weaken IS

Founding editor of The Intercept Glenn Greenwald has told Middle East Eye that Prime Minister Cameron’s desire to bomb IS-held territory in Syria is about projecting the UK as a “powerful, relevant, military actor”.

The American journalist and lawyer wrote in an email:

The House of Commons debate makes clear that this latest proposed bombing campaign has one primary objective: mindless lashing out in order to feel strong, purposeful and resolute. None of the Tory or Labour war advocates can remotely articulate any strategic rationale why bombing in Syria will weaken, let alone destroy ISIS, and they don't even seem to be trying to pretend. It's all about the pose and the self-image: showing Britain as some sort of powerful, relevant, military actor who - from a nice safe distance of 30,000 feet in the air – will stand up to whoever is the newest Muslim villain group.

The carnage and chaos created by British bombing in places like Iraq and Libya - which is what enabled ISIS in the first place – achieved virtually nothing good, while spawning massive amounts of human suffering and dangerous instability. The excitement and pulsating sense of purpose brought about by a new bombing campaign completely overwhelms those rational lessons.

In the event of another horrific, violent attack in London, people like David Cameron, Hilary Benn, Liz Kendall and the rest of the Tory/Blairite war-mongers will pretend to be mystified that anyone would possibly want to bring violence to peaceful, loving Britain, completely ignoring their own role in fostering and fuelling endless violence. Given the massive corporate profit and political power-seizures enabled by endless war, it's worth wondering whether the cycle of violence they must know they are spawning is a feature rather than a bug.