For the fourth time since I have been an MP, I will be voting on the issue of going to war. This week Parliament votes on committing our forces to bombing so call Islamic State in Syria.
A couple of years ago, we voted on committing to similar action, but through a rather complex and leaderless process that lasted a week, Labour failed to support the government motion. Since then, the rise of IS has been extraordinary. Who knows whether our intervention a few years ago might have prevented the rise of IS - it is probably futile trying to work it out. But since then, there have been some major differences.
The first is a United Nations resolution to tackle IS. The proposals put before Parliament are not solo actions, or the actions of a small group of western countries. Our intervention will have the backing of the UN.
The second is that IS have targeted British and European nationals outside their immediate war zone. British tourists have been massacred in Egypt. Paris has been the victim of a truly horrific attack that could so easily have happened in London. Whilst we have not taken ourselves to Syria, IS have brought themselves to our shores. Our security services are tackling threats the whole time - successfully, so far.
If we are to tackle this threat once and for all, we need to cut the head off the snake, to tackle IS in its home ground. But there is more to this than simply sending in some British jet fighters with the best missiles the world has at its disposal. This is also about making absolutely sure that IS and, indeed, our allies in the middle east, see clearly that we are willing and eager to stand side by side with our western allies - the US and France in particular. It is so important that we show unity as the fourth biggest military country on the planet with our allies and that we stand up to the medieval horror that is IS.
Because of publishing deadlines, I write this before the vote has happened and I have not yet seen how Labour will react. I hope the vote will be won and that we can take action to protect our citizens, both abroad and back here in the UK. This is not a time for weak leadership.