British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said his country would start to address the root causes of the Islamic State’s rein of terror — specifically, “Islamist extremism,” a term President Obama has been hesitant to use.
In a Facebook post Monday, Cameron said his government would launch a series of new steps to protect UK citizens at home, and force ISIS into a retreat abroad.
“This includes a real focus on tackling the causes of the threats we face – not just their consequences,” he said. “So we will tackle the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism and refocus our aid budget to support fragile and broken states and regions, to prevent conflict and promote the golden thread of conditions that drive prosperity across the world: the rule of law, good governance and the growth of democracy.”
The conservative leader of the UK also warned the Islamic State against making any move to export a Paris-style attack to his country, and indicated he would encourage the use of deadly force against any who try.
“This is not a time to equivocate about allowing our police to shoot a terrorist to save the lives of innocent people,” Cameron said in a Facebook post, on the same day he met with French President Francois Hollande. “It is not a time to stand back and wish for another world where Jihadi John or Reyaad Khan could somehow be arrested, rather than stopped in their tracks.”
In his Facebook post, he outlined a plan to ensure British military forces are ready to back up police as needed to fight would-be attackers.
“And I can tell the House today that we’ve put in place a significant new contingency plan to deal with major terrorist attacks,” he said. “Under this new operation, up to 10,000 military personnel will be available to support the police in dealing with the type of shocking terrorist attacks we have seen in Paris.”
“As the murders on the streets of Paris reminded us so starkly, Islamic State is not some remote problem thousands of miles away; it is a direct threat to our security,” he added. “I want the British people to know they have a government that understands the importance of our national security and that we will take whatever actions are necessary to keep our country safe.”
Cameron met with French President Francois Hollande on Monday. During that visit, Cameron tweeted out a picture of the two leaders, and said the two countries were “united” in their determination to defeat the terrorist group. He called the group an “evil death cult.”
President Hollande and I are united in our determination to defeat the evil death cult, ISIL. pic.twitter.com/LMrGrRE61P
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) November 23, 2015
He later delivered an address to the House of Commons. There, he outlined his plan to boost surveillance techniques.
“These British-designed unmanned aircraft will fly at the very edge of the earth’s atmosphere and allow us to observe our adversaries for weeks on end, providing critical intelligence for our forces,” he told the House of Commons.
