LONDON
Former head of the British army has said Friday that the U.K. government should open talks with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad if the country wants to fight against the Islamic State.
Speaking with the BBC Radio 4's "Today" program, Lord Richard Dannat said, "The old saying 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' has begun to have some resonance with our relationship in Iran and I think it is going to have to have some resonance with our relationship with Assad.” He added, "I think whether it is above the counter or below the counter, a conversation has got to be held with [Assad] because, if there is any question of air strikes over Syria, it has got to be with the Assad regime's approval."
Dannat advised Prime Minister David Cameron on military matters before the general election. He know sits in the House of lords. Dannat also said that the U.K, should join the United States in its bombing campaign against IS. Dannat said that he thought it was inevitable that Britain would have to join the U.S. in taking on IS.
"I think the time will come when we will decide that our Tornado jets operating in the region won't just take photographs and produce intelligence; they will start dropping ordinance in conjunction with the Americans,” said Dannat.
Dannat’s remarks were echoed by Conservative Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee,Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who said in the Financial Times that IS, “need to be eliminated and we should not be squeamish about how we do it.”
Rifkind, a former foreign secretary, added, "Sometimes you have to develop relationships with people who are extremely nasty in order to get rid of people who are even nastier,” in relation to the possibility of working with Bashar al Assad.
The U.K. government has so far said that it will not engage in a new conflict in Iraq. British military aircraft have been involved in delivering aid and weapons to Northern Iraq. Royal Air Force Tornadoes have also been involved in reconnaissance missions over the country.
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