Defence chief warns military in Iraq for years

The UK should be prepared for military involvement in Iraq for years to come, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has warned.

On the eve of a vote by MPs which could see UK airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants within days, Mr Fallon predicted the Armed Forces would be in the country for the "long haul".

Today's motion specifically rules out action in nearby Syria, the birthplace of IS, without a separate, second vote.

It also states that the UK will not put "boots on the ground".

No 10 emphasised that point yesterday saying: "We will not deploy UK troops in ground operations [in Iraq] - that is the long, short and tall of it."

The vote is expected to be a formality amid growing concern about IS, following the release of a series of videos showing IS terrorists beheading Westerners.

Last night the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he had intelligence IS militants were planning attacks on underground train systems in the US and Paris.

The Commons vote would commit the UK to military action in Iraq for the third time in just over two decades.

No 10's caution over ground troops is part of a desire not to be caught in the kind of conflict that led to intense public anger with the last Labour government.

The Deputy Prime Minister and LibDem leader Nick Clegg was among those who famously denounced that war as illegal.

This time the Coalition has been at pains to demonstrate that action is compatible with international law. Downing Street took the unusual step of releasing a summary of its legal advice last night, which stressed that it was Iraq itself that had requested help to fight IS.

The document read: "The Government is satisfied that the consent of Iraq ... provides a clear and unequivocal legal basis for the deployment of UK forces and military assets to take military action to strike ISIL (IS) sites and military strongholds in Iraq."

Labour had expressed concern about air raids extending into Syria without specific authorisation of the UN Security Council.

The UK almost bombed the Syrian regime, led by President Assad and accused of gassing thousands of his own people, almost one year ago, but pulled back after MPs failed to vote for the move. At a cabinet meeting in Downing Street yesterday ministers unanimously backed air strikes in Iraq. They are understood to have noted that IS poses a "clear and present danger" to security in the UK.

Asked in an interview if the UK's Armed Forces would be in Iraq for the long-haul, Mr Fallon referred to US Secretary of State John Kerry's estimate of two to three years, saying:
"That looks like a long haul to me. But we have to face up to this. This kind of extremism has been spreading, taking root in democracies."

In the interview, with The House magazine, he added that "one way or another" IS had to be dealt with.

"This isn't about containment. This is about the defeat of ISIL."

But some MPs have already expressed doubts.

Madeleine Moon, a Labour member of the Defence Select Committee, said: "There are far too many questions that remain to be answered. My concern is ultimately you need boots on the ground. Who's going to do that?"

Tory MP Bob Stewart, also a member of the Commons Defence Committee and a former army commander, said IS had to be defeated in Syria. He said: "You have got to go to the eye of the octopus and the eye of the octopus isn't necessarily in Iraq, it is in Syria."

He added: "The only way to get rid of this menace is to beat on the ground, drive them out, annihilate them or capture them."