West facing 'generational struggle' against Islamic State: Cameron
18 Aug 2014 12:34 AM GMT
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday said the West is facing a ‘generational struggle’ against a poisonous and extremist ideology of Islamic State which he said is a direct threat to the country.
‘I believe we will be fighting this generational struggle for the rest of my political lifetime,’ Cameron said.
‘We face in ISIL (IS) a new threat that is single-minded, determined and unflinching in pursuit of its objectives,’ Cameron wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
‘We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology,’ Cameron said, adding that Islamic State fighters sweeping across Syria and Iraq are a direct threat to the UK.
‘Already it controls not just thousands of minds, but thousands of square miles of territory, sweeping aside much of the boundary between Iraq and Syria to carve out its so-called caliphate,’ he said.
Cameron also expressed his concern over the Islamic State terrorist movement, saying ‘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.’ However, he said he did not think British troops should be deployed in Iraq and he would consider working with Iran to combat the threat.
‘We must work with countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and Turkey against these extremist forces, and perhaps even with Iran, which could choose this moment to engage with the international community against this shared threat,’ said Cameron.
IS has seized large parts of northern Iraq and Syria over the summer.
‘I believe we will be fighting this generational struggle for the rest of my political lifetime,’ Cameron said.
‘We face in ISIL (IS) a new threat that is single-minded, determined and unflinching in pursuit of its objectives,’ Cameron wrote in the Sunday Telegraph.
‘We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology,’ Cameron said, adding that Islamic State fighters sweeping across Syria and Iraq are a direct threat to the UK.
‘Already it controls not just thousands of minds, but thousands of square miles of territory, sweeping aside much of the boundary between Iraq and Syria to carve out its so-called caliphate,’ he said.
Cameron also expressed his concern over the Islamic State terrorist movement, saying ‘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.’ However, he said he did not think British troops should be deployed in Iraq and he would consider working with Iran to combat the threat.
‘We must work with countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and Turkey against these extremist forces, and perhaps even with Iran, which could choose this moment to engage with the international community against this shared threat,’ said Cameron.
IS has seized large parts of northern Iraq and Syria over the summer.
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