The USA and the UK governments have been increasing their rhetoric regarding military intervention in Syria, following alleged claims that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own people. Though the international community has the responsibility to get to the bottom of what happened, military intervention is not the right option. Following the failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, UK simply cannot afford another military campaign in the Middle East, especially given the truly complicated situation in Syria.

Over the last decades, lives have been ruined and countries destroyed because of Western intervention in the Middle East. Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan still suffer. It would be naive to assume that the outcome in Syria would be any better.

We urge the UK government to not choose military intervention as the main course of action. Diplomacy must still remain the main path towards the end of the conflict in Syria. We must learn from history and our past mistakes.