Heavily-armed Reaper drones have been successful in the battle against Isil
Britain’s Special Forces will be
increased and the Government will buy more spy planes and drones, David
Cameron will announce on Monday, as he sets out plans to use the
increased defence budget to fund a fresh assault on Isil.
George Osborne, the Chancellor, used his Budget last week to announce that the Government will spend 2 per cent of Britain's national income on defence every year for the next decade.
With ministers understood to be planning to begin a bombing campaign
against Islamist terrorists in Syria, the Prime Minister has instructed
defence chiefs to spend the extra money on doing “more to counter the
threat posed by Isil”.
The
Government has committed an extra £1billion a year to spending by the
Ministry of Defence by 2020, with a further £1.5billion which will be
split between the armed forces and intelligence agencies.
Money will be poured into Special Forces units like the SAS as well as
the drones which have launched hundreds of attacks on Isil targets in
Iraq.
“As Prime Minister, I
will always put the national security of our country first," Mr Cameron
said. "That's why it is right that we spend 2 per cent of our GDP on
defence because this investment helps to keep us safe."
"Now we know how much we will spend, what matters next is how we spend it. I have tasked the Defence and Security Chiefs to look specifically at how we do more to counter the threat posed by ISIL and Islamist extremism.
"This could include more spy planes, drones and Special Forces. In the last five years, I have seen just how vital these assets are in keeping us safe."
Mr Cameron and Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, want to step up the bombing campaign against Isil by taking part in strikes against the terror group in Syria.
It is expected that Mr Cameron will call a Commons vote on the issue in the Autumn. Downing Street is wary of asking Parliament to approve any military action before a new Labour leader is elected.
Officials do not want a repeat of the vote on bombing in Syria in 2013, when Labour and dozens of Tory rebels inflicted a damaging defeat on the Prime Minister.
However, Mr Cameron’s commitment to expanding the Special Forces teams leading the fight against Isil will be seen as a clear indication that he intends to intensify British participation in the attacks on the terrorists across the Middle East.
It comes in the wake of the Tunisian terror attack in which 38 tourists – including 30 British citizens - were murdered.
• David Cameron wants defence spending to increase after election, aide indicates
The Prime Minister will Monday visit RAF Waddington - home to the UKs ISTAR force, from where Reaper missions are flown over Iraq and Syria.
Tornado jet fighters and Reaper drones have flown over 1000 missions and struck over 300 Isil targets.
Later on Monday, Mr Cameron will host members of the crew of the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier at Downing Street.
Mr Cameron wants the aircraft carrier, which will come into service in 2020, to “project drones, Special Forces and strike capabilities to wherever the terrorist threat is found”, officials said.
Mr Cameron’s pledge on spending comes as it emerged that dramatic footage of British drones blowing up Isil terrorists in Iraq is being broadcast on YouTube by the government to dissuade disillusioned Muslims from joining the fight.
Grainy videos showing the moment a speeding jeep carrying Islamist extremists is destroyed and how a car rigged with explosives is neutralised by a Reaper drone have been posted online and viewed thousands of times.
The decision by the Ministry of Defence to regularly broadcast recent attacks from the front line is said to be unprecedented and shows the importance the government attributes to winning the online propaganda battle against Isil.
Since October 2014, the Ministry of Defence has been publishing an online log of targets they have destroyed in air strikes with detailed explanations of the missions.
However, the government is now increasingly including YouTube footage of the successful attacks, in a bid to deter would-be jihadists from travelling to the Middle East.
Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, on Sunday said that British Muslims who refuse to condemn extremist attacks like the one in Tunisia are “taking” children “to the door” of the terrorists.
The country’s only Muslim Cabinet minister warned that British Muslims have a responsibility to “combat the poisonous ideology” of Islamist terror groups.
Mr Javid warned that there are Imams in mosques in the UK refusing to condemn terrorist atrocities.
He told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "I do think there are too many people - let's call them non-violent extremists - that feed this ideology.
They may not agree with the terrorism ... but they might agree with the narrative.
"We have got to realise the damage that they are doing. They are, in that case, it's like taking a young person to the door of the terrorist. Then you make the terrorist's job of recruitment a lot easier because then they just have to beckon them in.
"I think all people, Muslims included - I guess especially Muslims - they have to talk to these people, let's say the non-violent extremists, and say 'what you are doing, spreading this ideology, you are hurting us, you are hurting yourselves ultimately, it must stop'.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11735223/Britains-Special-Forces-will-be-increased-ahead-of-fresh-assault-on-Isil.html
"Now we know how much we will spend, what matters next is how we spend it. I have tasked the Defence and Security Chiefs to look specifically at how we do more to counter the threat posed by ISIL and Islamist extremism.
"This could include more spy planes, drones and Special Forces. In the last five years, I have seen just how vital these assets are in keeping us safe."
Mr Cameron and Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, want to step up the bombing campaign against Isil by taking part in strikes against the terror group in Syria.
It is expected that Mr Cameron will call a Commons vote on the issue in the Autumn. Downing Street is wary of asking Parliament to approve any military action before a new Labour leader is elected.
Officials do not want a repeat of the vote on bombing in Syria in 2013, when Labour and dozens of Tory rebels inflicted a damaging defeat on the Prime Minister.
However, Mr Cameron’s commitment to expanding the Special Forces teams leading the fight against Isil will be seen as a clear indication that he intends to intensify British participation in the attacks on the terrorists across the Middle East.
It comes in the wake of the Tunisian terror attack in which 38 tourists – including 30 British citizens - were murdered.
• David Cameron wants defence spending to increase after election, aide indicates
The Prime Minister will Monday visit RAF Waddington - home to the UKs ISTAR force, from where Reaper missions are flown over Iraq and Syria.
Tornado jet fighters and Reaper drones have flown over 1000 missions and struck over 300 Isil targets.
Later on Monday, Mr Cameron will host members of the crew of the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier at Downing Street.
Mr Cameron wants the aircraft carrier, which will come into service in 2020, to “project drones, Special Forces and strike capabilities to wherever the terrorist threat is found”, officials said.
Mr Cameron’s pledge on spending comes as it emerged that dramatic footage of British drones blowing up Isil terrorists in Iraq is being broadcast on YouTube by the government to dissuade disillusioned Muslims from joining the fight.
Grainy videos showing the moment a speeding jeep carrying Islamist extremists is destroyed and how a car rigged with explosives is neutralised by a Reaper drone have been posted online and viewed thousands of times.
The decision by the Ministry of Defence to regularly broadcast recent attacks from the front line is said to be unprecedented and shows the importance the government attributes to winning the online propaganda battle against Isil.
Since October 2014, the Ministry of Defence has been publishing an online log of targets they have destroyed in air strikes with detailed explanations of the missions.
However, the government is now increasingly including YouTube footage of the successful attacks, in a bid to deter would-be jihadists from travelling to the Middle East.
Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, on Sunday said that British Muslims who refuse to condemn extremist attacks like the one in Tunisia are “taking” children “to the door” of the terrorists.
The country’s only Muslim Cabinet minister warned that British Muslims have a responsibility to “combat the poisonous ideology” of Islamist terror groups.
Mr Javid warned that there are Imams in mosques in the UK refusing to condemn terrorist atrocities.
He told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "I do think there are too many people - let's call them non-violent extremists - that feed this ideology.
They may not agree with the terrorism ... but they might agree with the narrative.
"We have got to realise the damage that they are doing. They are, in that case, it's like taking a young person to the door of the terrorist. Then you make the terrorist's job of recruitment a lot easier because then they just have to beckon them in.
"I think all people, Muslims included - I guess especially Muslims - they have to talk to these people, let's say the non-violent extremists, and say 'what you are doing, spreading this ideology, you are hurting us, you are hurting yourselves ultimately, it must stop'.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/11735223/Britains-Special-Forces-will-be-increased-ahead-of-fresh-assault-on-Isil.html
No comments:
Post a Comment