Cameron: Islamic State advance a clear threat to safety in UK
THE advance of Islamic State (IS) extremists poses a “clear danger” to the future safety of Britain’s streets, David Cameron said as he explained his decision to arm Kurdish fighters.
Body armour and counterexplosive equipment are among high-tech items being considered as part of a shipment of military hardware to be sent to Iraq to bolster out-gunned anti-IS forces.
Mr Cameron said it was “hardly surprising” that voters were wary of any re-engagement in the country, more than a decade after the US-led invasion that ended in the present chaos.
But while it was right not to “send armies to fight or occupy”, he wrote in a Sunday newspaper, the threat posed by the Islamists was so great that some military intervention was fully justified.
He added that if IS succeeded in creating a wide-ranging caliphate encompassing several countries across the region, “we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member.”
He added: “This is a clear danger to Europe and to our security. It is a daunting challenge. But it is not an invincible one, as long as we are now ready and able to summon up the political will to defend our own values and way of life with the same determination, courage and tenacity as we have faced danger before in our history.
“That is how much is at stake here: we have no choice but to rise to the challenge.”
EU foreign ministers earlier gave their joint approval to the supply of arms to the Kurds, and the UK is now working on the details of what they require.
Mr Cameron said he will shortly appoint a special representative to the Kurdistan Regional Government to help co-ordinate the aid.
“I agree that we should avoid sending armies to fight or occupy,” he wrote. “But we need to recognise that the brighter future we long for requires a long-term plan for our security as well as for our economy.”
He added: “Today, when every nation is so immediately interconnected, we cannot turn a blind eye and assume that there will not be a cost for us if we do.”
Mr Cameron also addressed IS supporters at home – warning that anyone “walking around with Isis flags or trying to recruit people to their terrorist cause” would be arrested.
His comments came after the Church of England attacked the Government for having no “coherent or comprehensive approach” to combating Islamic extremism.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander said the criticisms by the Church of England – in a letter to the Prime Minister from the Bishop of Leeds sanctioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury – meant Mr Cameron had “serious questions” to answer.