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What Syria Means for Britain

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09/09/2013

BBC Radio 4 - What Syria Means for Britain

John Kampfner examines the potential consequences of Britain not intervening in Syria.

John Kampfner reflects on the consequences of Britain's decision not to intervene in Syria, with contributions from Tony Blair, Liam Fox, Jack Straw, Shirley Williams and others.

A Radio 4 special following the rejection by MPs of a military strike against Syria. John Kampfner considers what the decision, taken in the shadow of the war in Iraq, says about Britain and its place in the world. 

He talks to Tony Blair who argues that the Syria vote had less to do with faulty intelligence before the war in Iraq than with its bloody and expensive aftermath. 

Former Conservative Defence Secretary Liam Fox suggests the vote by MPs is reminiscent of the dark days of Munich while the American former diplomat Richard Haass compares it to the disastrous foreign policy Britain pursued over Suez. 

Is Britain a diminished power? Or a more mature, less hubristic one?

Producer: Mark Savage.

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