On 31st March 1854, the radical leader John Bright made the first of his great speeches opposing the Crimean War. “I am told indeed that the war is popular”, he proclaimed, “and that it is foolish and eccentric to oppose it”.
A considerable number of my colleagues take a quite contrary view regarding the provision of arms to Syria’s insurgency. Military assistance to the Syrian opposition is not popular, and it is regarded by many as foolish and eccentric to support it.
Many of these reservations are sincere and well-founded. However although I was wary of providing military assistance during the first year of the Syrian conflict, I came to the conclusion last summer that arming Syria’s insurgents was the least bad of a series of unpalatable options. Almost a year on, as the death toll continues to mount and the prospect of a sustainable political settlement is becoming increasingly remote, the argument is increasingly compelling.
The basic case for considering arming the rebels is well-documented, and has been made by both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, as well as myself, in recent weeks.
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