We are gravely concerned at the possibility of a parliamentary decision to bomb Syria. David Cameron is planning such a vote in the House of Commons in the near future. He is doing so in the face of much evidence that such an action would exacerbate the situation it is supposed to solve. Already we have seen the killing of civilians and the exacerbation of a refugee crisis which is largely the product of wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan.

The US and its allies have dropped 20,000 bombs on Iraq and Syria in the past year, with little effect. We fear that this latest extension of war will only worsen the threat of terrorism, as have the previous wars involving the British government. Cameron is cynically using the refugee crisis to urge more war. He should not be allowed to.

Mark Rylance

Charlotte Church

John Williams

Mairead Maguire Nobel peace laureate

Brian Eno

Len McCluskey General secretary, Unite the Union

Christine Shawcroft Labour NEC

Diane Abbott MP

Jenny Tonge

Caroline Lucas MP

Andrew Murray Chair, Stop the War Campaign

Lindsey German Convenor, STWC

Tariq Ali

John Pilger

Tim Lezard

David Edgar

Alan Gibbons

Andy de la Tour

Michael Rosen

Eugene Skeef

Victoria Brittain

Anders Lustgarten

David Gentleman

David Swanson

Gerry Grehan Peace People Belfast



• We renew our call made five months ago for the governments of the US and UK to cease turning a blind eye to war crimes and to the destruction of Yemen by aerial bombardment and blockade of food and fuel. Behind a virtual silence in the western media, the US and the UK have inexplicably acquiesced in the ruination of Yemen. We renew our call for a sharp change in policy: to work for an immediate ceasefire, to respect Yemeni sovereignty, and to foster political negotiations between the Yemeni parties in the neutral state of Oman, or elsewhere. We reject our countries’ unconscionable support for this war and urge a diplomatic solution.

Robert Burrowes University of Washington

Louise Cainkar Marquette University

Steve Caton Harvard University

Sheila Carapico University of Richmond

Rochelle Davis Georgetown University

Paul Dresch University of Oxford

Najam Haidar Barnard College

Anne Meneley Trent University (Canada)

Brinkley Messick Columbia University

Flagg Miller University of California, Davis

Martha Mundy London School of Economics

Jillian Schwedler Hunter College, CUNY Graduate Center

Lucine Taminian American Academic Research Institute in Iraq

Gabriele vom Bruck Soas, University of London

Janet Watson University of Leeds

Lisa Wedeen University of Chicago

Shelagh Weir London

John Willis University of Colorado

Stacey Philbrick Yadav Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Sami Zubaida Birkbeck College, London