BY APPEARING on last weekend’s Meet the Press, an American current-affairs programme, David Cameron was sending a message to his local audience that Britain was back as America’s closest and most reliable ally. Although much of the interview was about the prime minister’s support for the nuclear deal with Iran, what Mr Cameron really wanted to convey was that Britain would “step up and do more” in the fight against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. “Be in no doubt,” he said, “we are committed to working with you to destroy the caliphate in both countries.” He acknowledged that he would still need to persuade Parliament to extend Britain’s bombing campaign to Syria, but left little doubt over his intentions.
The murder on June 26th of 30 British holidaymakers on a Tunisian beach by a jihadist gunman with links to IS has had a galvanising effect on Mr Cameron. He believes that the atrocity has reminded voters that what he sees as the “poison” of Islamism has to be confronted militarily as well as ideologically. In a speech on July 20th he declared that “passive tolerance” of extremism and jihadist...Continue reading
via Brian Rushton, We’ll be with you in Syria
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