‘We can’t let Isis rise from Mosul ruins’
HALTON’S MP has asked the Defence Secretary in Westminster for assurances in a ongoing military operation in Iraq to drive out Isis.
Derek Twigg spoke to Sir Michael Fallon during a House Of Commons session on the liberation of Mosul.
Sir Michael told the Commons that Iraqi forces have began converging on the city which is held by Isis, which as also known as Isil and Daesh, from the east and south.
He said it was the biggest offensive of the counter-Daesh campaign and is designed to ‘break Daesh’s grip on the largest city still within its grasp’.
He told MPs: “Ridding Iraq of Daesh was never going to be quick or easy, but as we enter the third year of the campaign, real progress is being made.
“Defeating Daesh in the long term will help make the streets of Britain and Europe safer.
“I am sure the whole House will want to join me in paying tribute to the vital role of our Armed Forces in defeating this evil.”
Sir Michael added that British support includes intelligencegathering and intensive air support to Iraqi ground forces from the RAF, and that more than half of the RAF’s recent strikes have been in and around Mosul.
Mr Twigg said: “First, on the secretary of state’s point about driving Isis out of Iraq, what assurances can he give the House that we will not see a repeat of the situation that followed the surge in 2006-7, which would allow Isis to reemerge from the deserts and move into Syria?
“What steps has he taken to stop that, working with the coalition partners?
“Secondly, when the hon. Member for Penrith and The Border (Rory Stewart) and I were in Iraq a couple of years ago, we were appalled by the dearth of intelligence.
“Is he satisfied that there have been significant improvements in intelligence on the ground?” ●
Sir Michael said that nobody within the coalition, which includes around 60 countries, wants to return in Iraq in five or 10 years’ time ‘doing this all over again’.
He said: “We need to ensure that the political settlement that is left when Daesh is pushed out of the country endures and is as embedded as it can be and that both Sunnis and Shi’as can rely on sufficient security to get back to their cities, towns and villages and live their lives.
“We will therefore continue to encourage the process of political reform, which has been far too slow.
“In many respects, it has been behind the military progress that has been made. We will continue to encourage that.”