France Prepares to bomb Islamic State bases in northern Syria

France prepares to bomb Islamic State bases in
northern Syria 

Francois Hollande changes tactics in light of the ongoing IS crisis and Russian actions 

Conference de presse du President de la Republique 

Francois Hollande: "My responsibility is to make sure that we are as well informed as
possible of the threats against our country." Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg
France(ll will today begin reconnaissance flights over territory held by Islamic State (IS)
in northern Syria121, with a view to subsequent bombing raids, President Francois
Hollande announced at a press conference on Monday. 

Over the past year, France has carried out 217 bombing raids against IS in northern
Iraq131. Over the same period, the US targeted IS 2,876 times in Iraq and 6,500 times in
Syria.

France, like Britain, until now refused to attack IS in Syria, for fear of strengthening the
Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad.
Mr Hollande linked the fight against IS to the migration crisis. He announced that France
will accept 24,000 asylum seekers, out Of the 120,000 which the EU wants to distribute
across member states. Terrorism and war were the root causes of their exodus, he noted.
IS has organised attacks against France and other countries from its stronghold in Syria,
Mr Hollande continued. "My responsibility is to make sure that we are as well informed
as possible Of the threats against our country. That is why I asked the minister Of defence
to begin reconnaissance flights over Syria. These flights will make it possible to envisage
airstrikes against IS, while preserving our autonomy Of decision and action."
French officers had complained that by limiting operations to Iraqi airspace, France
deprived itself Of intelligence in the fight against IS. 

Most experts believe a ground offensive would be the only way to dislodge IS. Asked
whether France was prepared to consider sending ground troops, Mr Hollande said that
Paris has never shirked its responsibility to fight terrorism. Yet again, he reminded his
audience that he was ready to bomb Mr Assad's regime in the summer of 2013, when
Syria used chemical weapons. US president Barack Obama(4 reversed his decision to
strike Syria, forcing Paris to follow suit. 

Mr Hollande said it would be "irresponsible and and unrealistic" for France to send
ground troops against IS. 

"Unrealistic because we would be the only ones. Irresponsible because it would transform
an operation into occupation forces. So we won't intervene on the ground in Syria, any
more than we have in Iraq. Because it's up to Iraqis in Iraq and the Syrian rebels in Syria.
It's up to the neighbouring countries, to regional forces, to assume their
responsibilities." 

Arms contracts
Growing Russian involvement in the Syrian war is also believed to have motivated the
shift in French strategy. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin151, continues to support

Mr Assad161 while Mr Hollande insists that "in the long run (Assadl must leave" if there
is to be a settlement in Syria.
"We are giving strong, serious support to Syria in terms of military equipment, training
and weapons," Mr Putin said on September 4th. "We have already signed important
IARMS)lcontracts with Syria, and they will be fulfilled completely."
Mr Hollande suggested Paris could host an international conference on refugees in
November. He said the right of asylum was "part of the history and soul" of France.
The French government avoids using the word "quota", but Mr Hollande called for "a
mandatory, permanent mechanism" for distributing asylum seekers across Europe.
An opinion poll last weekend showed that 55 per cent of French people oppose taking in
more asylum seekers. Mr Hollande said it was a question Of "honour in the face Of horror"
for France to receive "those who are tormented, banned and displaced".
Marine Le Pen171, leader of the extreme right-wing National Front, said on Sunday that
"immigration is not an opportunity; it's a burden". Ms Le Pen accused Germany Of
seeking to compensate for "flagging demography" and "recruiting slaves through mass
immigration".
Links
1 http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?
tae location—France
http ://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location—Syria&article—true
2.
http ://www.irishtimes.corn/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location—Iraq
3
http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?
4.
5.
h ttp://www.irishtimes.corn/search/search-7.1213540?
tag_person-Vladimir%20Putin&article-true
http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?
6.
http://wvvw.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?
7 

Response:

This article, overall, has a vast perspective and shows many of the differing sides. The writer is biased towards France by speaking of Mr. Hollande in a fond manner. The writer shows that Mr. Hollande is aware of the asylum seekers situation and that they are trying to escape the bonds of terrorism. This then plays into how he handles the IS. Hollande has clearly stated that they will only do airstrikes, because it is not their place to fight on foot in Syria. The bias within this article is against those who are against Hollande like Putin and Assad, since they are in alliance. The publisher has much to do with this bias, since it is an Irish paper, they would get more profit from those in France than those in Russia and especially Syria. As a reader of this article, Hollande has not thought through the consequences of airstrikes on Syria, because they will most likely have to go in on foot in the future. It is great that he sees what the asylum seekers are running from, but that will only make Hollande's position tougher, since he is opposing those he is afraid to combat with. The article is portraying the message that Hollande has his mind made about airstrikes, but they are bias towards him, hoping the airstrikes will benefit everyone.



http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/france-prepares-to-bomb-islamic-state-bases-in-northern-syria-1.2343531