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The dangers of short-term foreign policy thinking
Those who called for caution or were against the wars in Iraq, Libya and Syria are often derided. But, as recent history shows, there have been grave consequences for Britain and the rest of the world

FROM Iraq (circa 2002-3), to Libya in 2011 and Syria today, influential liberal commentators including David Aaronovitch, Nick Cohen, Paul Mason, Jonathan Freedland and many politicians have repeatedly pushed for Western military intervention. 

“Something must be done,” they shout from their newspaper columns. “We must act now before it is too late,” they warn in the House of Commons. 

One of the things that characterises these emotive and often simplistic calls for action is their narrow, laser-like focus on human rights abuses Western governments are publicly concerned about. 

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