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UK poised for Syria air strikes after parliament vote

But experts question how much Britain, which has been wary of joining foreign conflicts in recent years after unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would add to the campaign against IS in Syria.

“It will not make a big operational difference,” said Professor Malcolm Chalmers of military think-tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

“It is important symbolically, useful operationally, but not transformative.”

Tim Eaton and Chris Phillips of foreign affairs think-tank Chatham House accused ministers of “knee-jerk reactions… not part of a well-considered long-term strategy to defeat and degrade IS”.

“It is understandable that the British government doesn’t want to stand by as IS continues to terrorise or as Syria continues to be consumed by chaos but reaching for a quick military option like the one proposed is not the answer,” they wrote in an article for Prospect magazine.

– ‘Plotting to kill us’ –

Cameron has pledged that Britain joining air strikes on Syria will be matched by a major diplomatic push to resolve the crisis.

The last Syria peace talks in Vienna held last month brought together 17 countries including Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

It set a fixed calendar for a ceasefire followed by a transitional government in six months and elections one year later. Syrian opposition figures have called this unrealistic.

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During the debate, the government also faced a string of questions about whether joining the international military action on Syria could make Britain more vulnerable to attack from IS.

The last major plot to hit British soil was the July 7, 2005 attacks in which 52 people died.

And in June this year, 30 Britons were among 38 tourists killed in an attack at a holiday resort in Tunisia claimed by IS.

Officials say seven plots have been foiled by intelligence services in the last year alone. Cameron said this figure showed it was right to take immediate action.

“These terrorists are plotting to kill us and radicalise our children right now,” he said. “They attack us because of who we are, not because of what we do”.

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