Just days before a London anti-war march is expected to draw thousands, Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle united with artists, writers, and trade unionists on Thursday in an open letter denouncing the “dangerous” British rush to bomb Syria.
“Far from tackling terrorism, the last fourteen years of war have seen massively increased Jihadi terrorist organisation around the world,” states the missive, whose 23 signatories also include Roxy Music star Brian Eno and writer, journalist, and filmmaker Tariq Ali.
“The U.S. has been bombing Isis for a year and admits that Isis is as strong as ever and has continued recruiting,” continues the letter, which was organized by the London-based Stop the War Coalition. “The experience of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya shows that Western military interventions lead to large scale casualties, devastating destruction and huge flows of refugees.”
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The letter coincides with British Prime Minister David Cameron’s aggressive push this week, in the wake of the Paris attacks, to convince lawmakers to authorize air strikes against alleged ISIS targets in Syria. The drive comes despite the fact that Cameron lost a parliamentary vote in August 2013 for approval to launch air strikes—then against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
Moreover, the effort follows rising concerns over the country’s recent military escalation, including drone assassination of its own citizens, secret participation of its pilots in air strikes within Syria, and bombing of targets within Iraq. As recently as September, Cameron was widely criticized for exploiting the refugee crisis to build the case for escalated war.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Thursday wrote to the British parliament voicing opposition to Cameron’s proposed bombing campaign. “I do not believe the prime minister’s current proposal for airstrikes in Syria will protect our security and therefore cannot support it,” he wrote.
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