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'Isis extremists a threat to the streets of Britain', warns David Cameron
Isis threat: David Cameron wants an alliance with Iran
(about 9 hours later)
The growing threat of extremists from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis) represents a "clear danger" to Britain's security, David Cameron has said as he faced criticism from senior clergymen over his lack of strategy in dealing with the crisis.
Britain must prepared to ally itself with Iran to combat the “shared threat” of Sunni Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria who want to create “a terrorist state” that could extend to “the shores of the Mediterranean,” David Cameron has said.
The Prime Minister, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, warned that the jihadist group, which has declared an Islamic caliphate across swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, could pose a direct threat to people "on the streets of Britain" if it continued to strengthen.
Suggesting that it was now in the UK’s national interest to put aside decades of enmity with the Shia regime in Tehran, the PM called on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to “engage with the international community” in combating Isis.
He said: 'The creation of an extremist caliphate... is not a problem miles away from home.
Mr Cameron even hinted UK opposition to the regime of President Assad in Syria could be tempered by the threat from Isis. He warned Islamic fighters had the “ancient city of Aleppo firmly within its sights”, where Syrian Government forces are fighting.
'Nor is it a problem that should be defined by a war 10 years ago. It is our concern here and now.
The new position reflects a growing realisation that US and British opposition to Assad and support for Sunni rebels in Syria have allowed Isis to grow in power and create what Mr Cameron described as a “so-called caliphate” across large swathes of Syria and Northern Iraq. But it will cause deep anger in Israel that still believed the Iranian regime is intent upon its destruction and is misleading the West promises of a deal on its nuclear programme.
'Because if we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain. We already know that it has the murderous intent.'
In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cameron wrote that Britain was in the midst of a “generational struggle” that would last “for the rest of my political lifetime”.
He added that while it is “hardly surprising” that voters are wary of re-engagement in Iraq, the jihadist group is “a new threat that is single-minded, determined, and unflinching in its pursuit” of establishing an Islamic state.
“Already IS [Isis] controls not just thousands of minds, but thousands of square miles of territory... It makes no secret of its expansionist aims... And it boasts of its designs on Jordan and Lebanon, and right up to the Turkish border. If it succeeds, we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member. This is a clear danger to Europe.”
"This is a clear danger to Europe and to our security," he said.
Reports say that ISIS have killed 80 people in a fresh massacre He continued to rule out a greater role for UK troops in Iraq, saying that the effort must be put into strengthening Kurdish and Iraqi forces.
Explaining his decision to arm Kurdish fighters in the region, Mr Cameron also warned that if Isis succeeded in creating a wide-ranging caliphate encompassing across the region "we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member.
Mr Cameron’s policy faced criticism from the Church of England, which accused the Government of appearing to have no “coherent or comprehensive approach” to tackling Islamic extremism.
Body armour and counter-explosive equipment are among hi-tech items being considered as part of a shipment of military hardware to be sent to Iraq to bolster out-gunned anti-IS forces.
In a strongly worded attack – backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury – the Bishop of Leeds said “many” top clergy were seriously concerned.
This morning, the BBC reported that local sources had confirmed Kurdish forces, with support by US air strikes, had begun an operation to retake the key strategic Mosul dam from Isis fighters.
The Rt Rev Nicholas Baines has written to the PM, questioning whether there is any long-term strategy and criticising a “growing silence” over the fate of the plight of persecuted Christians.
Mr Cameron's comments come as leading figures from The Church of England accused the Government of lacking a “coherent or comprehensive approach” to tackling the rise of Islamic extremism.
Over a million people in Iraq have been displaced since the Islamic State's rapid advance in June Writing inThe Independent on Sunday, General Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said: “This unhappy saga highlights all too graphically the collective loss of nerve in matters of defence and security, increasingly the defining characteristic of this government.
The continued threat was underlined by reports of a fresh massacre of members of the Yazidi religious minority at the hands of jihadists despite continued US airstrikes against militant positions.
Officials and eyewitnesses said 80 men were killed and their wives and children abducted.
Reports say that ISIS have killed 80 people in a fresh massacre In a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister over his handling of the crisis, the Bishop of Leeds, Right Rev Nicholas Baines, criticised the "growing silence" over the fate of the plight of persecuted Christians.
Some 1.5 million people, many of them Kurdish Yazidis, have been displaced by fighting since the Islamic State's rapid advance began in June.
"It appears that, in common with the United States and other partners, the UK is responding to events in a reactive way, and it is difficult to discern the strategic intentions behind this approach," he wrote in the Observer newspaper.
"Please can you tell me what is the overall strategy that holds together the UK Government's response to both the humanitarian situation and what IS is actually doing in Syria and Iraq? Behind this question is the serious concern that we do not seem to have a coherent or comprehensive approach to Islamist extremism as it is developing across the globe.”
The letter was reportedly written with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
Over a million people in Iraq have been displaced since the Islamic State's rapid advance in June In addition, a former top Nato commander decried the Government’s approach in the region, stating that there is a “spineless lack of leadership" and an "abject absence of any credible strategy”.
Writing inThe Independent on Sunday, General Sir Richard Shirreff, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said: “This unhappy saga highlights all too graphically the collective loss of nerve in matters of defence and security, increasingly the defining characteristic of this government.
“The consequence has been knee-jerk reactions dictated by events, whether last year's abortive attempt to launch Tomahawk missiles at Syria, or last week's response to events in northern Iraq.”
“The consequence has been knee-jerk reactions dictated by events, whether last year's abortive attempt to launch Tomahawk missiles at Syria, or last week's response to events in northern Iraq.”
