France appeals to Britain urging joint anti-IS fight: Guardian

PanARMENIAN.Net - The French government has taken the highly unusual step of expressing the hope that the Royal Air Force “will soon be working side by side with their French counterparts” in taking military action in Syria, the Guardian reports.

In a sometimes emotional appeal, the French defense minister writes in the Guardian that UK military capabilities would “put additional and extreme pressure on the Isis terror network”.

Jean-Yves Le Drian says he wants the RAF “to take the fight to the very heart of Isis, defeating it and making our countries and peoples safer”.

Le Drian writes: “Just like France, the United Kingdom is working to defeat Isis, training local forces, striking targets in Iraq and providing vital intelligence support. Over Syria, British aircraft are supporting the coalition with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

“Isis is not just present in Iraq. It operates across the border, in Syria, where its headquarters are located, in Raqqa. It is from Raqqa that some of the main threats against other countries are planned and orchestrated. That’s why it is now crucial to strike Isis in Syria in order to degrade and, ultimately, to destroy it.”

The minister argues that the British have unique military hardware that would add to the coalition’s strength in combat missions in the country. “The RAF has significant capabilities for precision airstrikes, aerial reconnaissance and air-to-air refuelling support,” he says. “On a daily basis, its Tornado aircrafts and unmanned drones are causing very severe damage to Isis in Iraq. The use of these capabilities over Syria would put additional and extreme pressure on the Isis terror network.”

It is understood that French diplomats have been in touch with Labour frontbenchers to supplement this argument in private.

The appeal comes hours after David Cameron issued his formal case for war to parliament and Jeremy Corbyn gathered his shadow cabinet for what is likely to be two rounds of discussions ahead of a decision on whether to impose a whip either for or against war, or leave it to individual Labour MPs’ consciences. Corbyn afterwards set out his opposition to war in a letter to Labour MPs.