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David Cameron labels Assad 'part of the problem' as he refuses to rule out air strikes against Isis David Cameron makes the case for air strikes on Isis in Syria and Iraq and warns: 'Assad is part of the problem'
(about 3 hours later)
David Cameron this morning labelled Syrian president Assad "part of the problem" as he called for using "everything we have in our armoury" to squeeze Isis out of existence. David Cameron has ramped up the case for air strikes in Syria and Iraq to counter the growing threat of the Islamic State (Isis) as he labelled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "part of the problem".
Speaking on the BBC's Today programme, Mr Cameron refused to rule out the possibility of the UK joining United States air strikes against Isis forces, also stating: "I don't see president Assad as part of the solution. He's part of the problem." The Prime Minister dismissed suggestions that bombing raids on Isis positions in Syria would need the permission of President Assad’s government.
The Isis terrorist believed responsible for the beheading of two Americans, and who is currently threatening a British man's life, will "one way or another face justice", according to Mr Cameron. “My view is that President Assad is part of the problem, rather than part of the solution,” he said during a round of interviews ahead of the start of the Nato summit in South Wales.
Mr Cameron's remarks come as he and Barack Obama insist Britain and the United States will not be intimidated by terrorist threats, in a joint article published today in the Times. “We have got to understand that Assad has been part of the creation of IS, rather than part of its answer."
In a move seeking to ready the public for wider military action against Isis, the two leaders wrote how developments abroad, particularly the “utterly despicable murders” of two Americans, threatened national security. Mr Cameron seemingly rejected out of hand proposals from some quarters of an alliance with the Syrian government, saying that the West had often found itself in "all sorts of moral quagmires" by simply saying "my enemy's enemy is my friend".
“If terrorists think we will weaken in the face of their threats they could not be more wrong,” Mr Cameron and Mr Obama wrote. “Countries like Britain and America will not be cowed by barbaric killers.” He said it was wrong to believe that air strikes in Syria would be illegal without Assad's approval.
Speaking to ITV1, Mr Cameron continued: "We need to show real resolve and determination, we need to use every power and everything in our armoury with our allies, with those on the ground, to make sure we do everything we can to squeeze this dreadful organisation our of existence." "I don't think it's that complicated because obviously the Iraqi government is a legitimate government ... whereas President Assad has committed war crimes on his own people and is therefore illegitimate."
As leaders gather for a two-day Nato summit in Wales, the Prime Minister and president Obama urged the 28 member states to summon up the "shared resolve" to turn the alliance into a more effective security network. Cameron says Assad 'is part of the problem, rather than solution' He repeated that the Islamist fighters sweeping across Syria and northern Iraq posed a direct threat to the UK – and added that strikes against them would be launched if they were considered in the national interest.
With former Soviet bloc neighbours of Russia - like the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - fearing they could be the next targets of president Vladimir Putin's aggression, Mr Cameron and Mr Obama made clear that an attack on any one member would be resisted by the whole alliance. Mr Cameron also signalled Britain is ready to send UK weapons directly to Kurdistan for the first time and to help train its forces to resist Isis militants in northern Iraq.
"With Russia trying to force a sovereign state to abandon its right to democracy and determining the course of its future at the barrel of a gun, we should support Ukraine's right to determine its own democratic future and continue our efforts to enhance Ukrainian capabilities," they wrote. A senior military officer, Lt Gen Sir Simon Mayall, has been authorised by Mr Cameron to hold talks with Kurdish leaders over what military support they need.
"We must use our military to ensure a persistent presence in Eastern Europe, reassuring Nato members in Eastern Europe and making clear to Russia that we will always uphold our ... commitments to collective self-defence." The Prime Minister said: “We’re prepared to do more and we're considering actively whether to give them arms ourselves and whether we can more directly to train Kurdish militia, we're already playing a role there but we can do more.”
Additional reporting from AP Britain has so far sent non-lethal equipment to Kurdistan, including a consignment of ten tonnes of body armour and helmet delivered earlier today, as well as carrying out surveillance operations in the area.
The Prime Minister has come under increasing pressure to address the growing Islamist threat following the identification of a British hostage in a video entitled ‘A Second Message to America’ that also showed the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff by an Islamic State militant.
David Haines was forced to kneel in the desert next to his fellow captive as the executioner, who has been dubbed ‘Jihadi John’, warned he would be the next to be beheaded.
The video has led to a growing clamour for more direct action from Britain and the United States. Mr Obama in particular has come under increased scrutiny over his approach, which has been criticised as lacking in focus.
After publicly responding to the murder two weeks ago of the first journalist, James Foley, he was widely rebuked for returning to his holiday. Last week, he said he didn’t “have a strategy yet” for dealing with Isis.
There is concern that Obama’s previous commitments to ending US engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq has clouded his judgement and made him appear impotent to the growing threat emanating from Syria and Iraq.
Nato leaders at the summit in Wales Ahead of the summit, which starts today, Mr Cameron and Mr Obama vowed not to be “cowed” by the barbaric murders.
He has insisted Britain will not pay ransoms to terrorists and said he will try to persuade other G8 nations to stick to an agreement not to pay hostage ransoms.
Speaking during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Mr Cameron said he had "no doubt" that "many tens of millions of dollars" raised by Isis from ransom payments was going towards "promoting terrorism", including terrorism affecting the UK.
The US has launched bombing raids on the militants’ positions, but has yet to formally request that other nations join the attacks.
There is some frustration in Whitehall over Mr Obama’s failure to be more explicit about his intentions, but Mr Cameron will hope to get a clear signal of the President’s plans in a meeting this morning. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have indicated support for limited air strikes if no diplomatic alternative can be found.
In a joint article in the Times today, Mr Cameron and Mr Obama accused the militants of “brutal and poisonous extremism."
“If terrorists think we will weaken in the face of their threats they could not be more wrong. Countries like Britain and America will not be cowed by barbaric killers,” they wrote.
“We will be more forthright in the defence of our values, not least because a world of greater freedom is a fundamental part of how we keep our own people safe.”