LONDON – The British Parliament is set to decide Wednesday whether to take more aggressive action against Islamic State extremists even as U.S. officials announced additional forces would be sent to the region as part of a global push against the radical group.
The British vote would authorize the Royal Air Force to launch airstrikes against suspected IS positions inside Syria, allowing it to take a more active role in the U.S.-led coalition seeking to weaken the militants held responsible for recent attacks in Paris, Beirut, Egypt and elsewhere.
Prime Minister David Cameron, confident of winning approval, has accused legislative opponents of sympathizing with terrorists. That has sparked a backlash, particularly in the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, opposes any expansion of the military role.
READ MORE: Islamic State group publicly killing gays in Syria and Iraq
A bruising debate began Wednesday morning in Parliament, with a vote expected late in the evening after more than 10 hours of discussion. Attacks may start within days if authorized by Parliament.
Andreas Krieg, assistant professor in the Department of Defence Studies at King’s College London, cautioned that the use of additional air power against Islamic State militants may have little impact without the presence of a ground force with strong ties to the local civilian population.
However, taking part now might give Britain a place at the table when political solutions are created in the future, said Jill Sargent Russell, an expert on warfare politics and strategy at the same university.
“What matters is the U.K. being part of this political shift,” she said.
The British debate comes as U.S. officials told Congress that the U.S. would put American combat troops on the ground in a more permanent role in Iraq and Syria.
Defence Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday that the U.S. military will deploy a new special operations force to be sent to Iraq to step up the fight against IS militants.
President Barack Obama had previously announced he was sending fewer than 50 special operations forces to Syria, but Carter said the new expeditionary force will be larger. He did not provide force strength details.
READ MORE: Iraqi PM says it doesn’t need help from foreign combat troops to defeat Islamic State
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said after Carter’s announcement that his security forces are capable of defeating Islamic State extremists without the help of foreign combat troops.
But he said foreign troops might be accepted in the future if they respect Iraqi sovereignty, co-operate fully with the Iraqi government, and have its approval.
Despite talk of increased co-operation among many nations, there were signs of serious fault lines and tensions between Russia and Turkey following the shooting down of a Russian military jet by Turkish forces – and between Russia and the United States, which disagree about tactics in Syria.
Russia’s deputy defence minister said Wednesday the Turkish president and his family are benefiting from illegal oil trade with Islamic State militants.
Anatoly Antonov and his colleagues at the defence ministry’s headquarters showed foreign defence attaches based in Moscow some satellite images purporting to show IS transporting oil to Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied the claims and said he will resign if the accusations are proven.
Meanwhile, the top NATO commander in Europe, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, has cautioned that the bulk of Russia’s air operations in Syria are still directed against moderate opposition forces and forces that oppose President Bashar Assad, not Islamic State positions.
U.S. officials had hoped Russia would change its bombing focus to Islamic State targets after the group’s affiliate in the Sinai Desert bombed a Russian civilian plane in October.
Breedlove said Wednesday there has been some shift in Russian tactics lately but that the “vast majority of their sorties” are targeting moderate groups, not Islamic State extremists operating there who are the main target of U.S. raids.
He said coalition forces “are not working with or co-operating with Russia in Syria” but have devised safety routines to make it easier for both groups.
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