"Nothing to do with me Boss"

Last night I blogged about the comments made by David Cameron in relation to those of us who disagree with his desire to begin a bombing campaign in Syria. As expected after 10 hours of debate in Parliament the dogs of war were set loose. Within hours, war planes were bombing targets in Syria. The deal is done, the die is cast. There can now be no going back. In the end Cameron had his way and with a substantial majority. This was democracy at work, however much people like me disagreed with its outcomes.

But when, as I believe it will, things start to turn a little sour will the right wing press and those who sought retribution rather than resolution to this conflict take responsibility? When Isis refuses to do what good chaps at Eton do and pack their bags and go home, when London or some other place in the UK is hit by Paris style massacres or terrorist bombs planted in retribution, when the flow of refugees to western Europe inexorably rises presenting even greater social, economic and cultural problems in northern Europe and when we read daily in our newspapers or see on our flat screens dreadful scenes of carnage and destruction in Syria and the wider middle east  will there be apologies?

I suspect not. There will, I forecast, be much hand-wringing and crocodile tears shed but no admission of guilt. Those who last night favoured a show of force will, as always, deny responsibility. They will blame the intelligence they were given or the role or actions of other easy to blame parties - Putin, or China or the man in the moon - and quietly and subtly they will move the political agenda.........and the media and political circus will move on leaving another wrecked middle eastern country, thousands or millions of destroyed lives not only in Syria and its immediate environs but in the furthest reaches of northern Europe where refugees will live in some of our already most deprived areas. These will be the wrecked lives, the detritus of the war - and they will not be living next door to David Cameron in up-market Notting Hill or attending one of his dinner parties with the Chipping Norton set in the Cotswolds. They will be eaking out an existence in the middle of some of our poorest industrial cities or in the wasted suburbs of Paris or in Brussels or Dusseldorf or Hamburg.  David Cameron and his ilk will read of the problems of these people and these areas but will never experience them or recognise that the vote taken in Westminster last night was, to say the least, a contributory factor in a continuing spiral of social unrest and the inevitable growth of divisive parties like UKIP. Cameron's quick fix solution - using our high-tech bombs and our wonderful drones to "degrade and destroy Isis" (how easy that trite phrase rolls off the tongues of David Cameron and Defence Minister Michael Fallon!) - will at the very least give the middle east and northern Europe decades of social misery and political volatility for generations to come.

But, like the naughty schoolboy caught in the act  David Cameron will not apologise when, years hence he writes his memoirs. If he does refer to it then it will be within the context of: "It wasn't me it was the Commons wot did it. We all agreed. We had a massive mandate for bombing." Except we didn't all agree did we? But, that will be irrelevant, Cameron will get off the hook. He will not do what the cartoon burglar does and say "It's fair cop, guv. you caught me in the act, cuff me and I'll do my time". No, he will behave like the playground bully who when caught always tries to spread the blame. Just as did Tony Blair, Cameron will say  "Nothing to do with me boss it was Parliament wot decided". Last night  I suggested that Cameron's actions and words were, in every respect, the actions and words of the school bully. This morning when I opened my Guardian I saw that cartoonist Steve Bell thought so too (see cartoon).

This morning's Guardian cartoon.

We are moving into very dangerous and dark times. The stakes have been raised not only in Syria but in the wider world. With last night's decision  it is my firm belief that the effects of the destruction caused by our 500lb Paveway bombs, our Brimstone Missiles (which "Even the American's don't possess" boasted a psyched up Cameron!) and the intelligence built into our Raptor Surveillance Pods will be felt not only across Europe in the sense of increased potential for terrorist riposte but for generations to come with the social, cultural and ultimately political fallout in our respective north European societies. Cameron might be right - the "war" night succeed; Isis might do the decent thing and pack their bags. Pigs might fly! But what is certain is that however long or short the action in Syria and the middle east is, the after effects will be felt far longer and more insidiously in Europe as our societies become more and more a volatile cultural and social mix where displaced people of different faiths, cultures and expectations scramble for housing, jobs and security within an increasingly uncertain and demanding economic and social climate  We should be very, very afraid.