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| Peace campaigners hail Commons verdict on Syria strikes | Peace campaigners hail Commons verdict on Syria strikes |
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| For peace campaigners and faith leaders, the House of Commons vote against military strikes on Syria represented a welcome reflection of public opinion, but for one anti-Assad campaigner, it was deeply upsetting. | For peace campaigners and faith leaders, the House of Commons vote against military strikes on Syria represented a welcome reflection of public opinion, but for one anti-Assad campaigner, it was deeply upsetting. |
| Robin Yassin-Kassab, a British-Syrian novelist, said he was disgusted at the politicians' decision. "In a decade we have gone from a situation where they rushed at the gleam of their leader's mad eye into a criminal war [in Iraq] to not even being able to join a symbolic strike to deter a genocide," he said. "It has been going on for two and a half years and they still do nothing. The left have it all wrong. This was not an imperial war." | Robin Yassin-Kassab, a British-Syrian novelist, said he was disgusted at the politicians' decision. "In a decade we have gone from a situation where they rushed at the gleam of their leader's mad eye into a criminal war [in Iraq] to not even being able to join a symbolic strike to deter a genocide," he said. "It has been going on for two and a half years and they still do nothing. The left have it all wrong. This was not an imperial war." |
| Richard Chartres, the bishop of London, said the vote reflected the sense he had of public opinion about the dilemma, which was captured by a YouGov poll earlier in the week indicating two-to-one opposition to firing missiles at Syria: | Richard Chartres, the bishop of London, said the vote reflected the sense he had of public opinion about the dilemma, which was captured by a YouGov poll earlier in the week indicating two-to-one opposition to firing missiles at Syria: |
| "Talking to people generally, the opinion polls seemed to represent the general view," he said. "There is no shortage of horror at what happened and a good deal of sympathy at the desire to defend people under assault from chemical weapons, but everyone is baffled about what to do without making the situation worse." | "Talking to people generally, the opinion polls seemed to represent the general view," he said. "There is no shortage of horror at what happened and a good deal of sympathy at the desire to defend people under assault from chemical weapons, but everyone is baffled about what to do without making the situation worse." |
| Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said the Commons vote was historic. "For the first time in decades, the UK refused to support a US-led war," she said. "Politicians from all parties voted against an attack on Syria. It not only reflects public opinion and the culmination of over a decade of anti-war campaigning, but also represents a break with the UK's default setting of backing US wars. For once, a majority of our elected officials were in step with the British public." Muhammad Abdul Bari, chairman of the East London mosque, said "sanity has prevailed", adding that "the Iraq fiasco has played its part". He reflected that the decision not to attack Syria came against a backdrop of slowly improving community cohesion in the UK. | Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said the Commons vote was historic. "For the first time in decades, the UK refused to support a US-led war," she said. "Politicians from all parties voted against an attack on Syria. It not only reflects public opinion and the culmination of over a decade of anti-war campaigning, but also represents a break with the UK's default setting of backing US wars. For once, a majority of our elected officials were in step with the British public." Muhammad Abdul Bari, chairman of the East London mosque, said "sanity has prevailed", adding that "the Iraq fiasco has played its part". He reflected that the decision not to attack Syria came against a backdrop of slowly improving community cohesion in the UK. |
| "The feeling among the people I speak to is that the decision has done many good things," he said. "Parliament has stamped its authority on the executive and we are waiting until the United Nations decides. I agree with Ed Miliband that Assad shouldn't feel he is off the hook and all western countries should put diplomatic, political and economic pressure on him." | "The feeling among the people I speak to is that the decision has done many good things," he said. "Parliament has stamped its authority on the executive and we are waiting until the United Nations decides. I agree with Ed Miliband that Assad shouldn't feel he is off the hook and all western countries should put diplomatic, political and economic pressure on him." |
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