UK foreign secretary urges action in Syria

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the risks of not taking action against Syria outweighed those of a limited campaign in response to an alleged chemical attack by the Damascus regime.

Speaking with the BBC on Sunday, Hague warned against the global implications of failing to punish those responsible for wielding chemical weapons.

“I do believe very strongly the world must stand up to the use of chemical weapons and there is a debate now taking place in the US Congress,” he said. “The risks of not doing so in my view are greater than the risks of doing so in a limited, proportionate and careful way.”

In late August the British parliament voted against the UK taking part in US-led military action against Syria for the apparent chemical weapons attack last month, which the US says killed over 1,400 people. However, Hague remained undeterred.

“If it is decided in the various parliaments of the world that no one will stand up to the use of chemical weapons and take any action about that, that will be a very alarming moment in the affairs of the world,” he said.

Hague added that although he accepts that there is strong public opinion in the UK against becoming entangled in the Syrian conflict, the heart of the matter was the use of chemical weapons, not just the civil war in that country.

“This issue is about chemical weapons, which is a bigger issue than Syria,” he said. “Allowing the spread of use of chemical weapons in the 21st century is an evil that we have to stand up to, one way or another.”

Despite his continued support for intervention, Hague made it clear that the government was not, in his words, “gung-ho about military action.”

Hague revealed that he had met with moderate representatives of the Syrian opposition and asserted that they were key to resolving the situation.

“There are some good people in Syria… without them we can’t get the political solution we need,” he said.

Stuart Winer