(Newswire.net — September 4, 2014) — In a joint article published in the Times, Cameron and Obama say Britain and the US can lead efforts to secure world peace.
“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 … We will be more forthright in the defense of our values, not least because a world of greater freedom is a fundamental part of how we keep our own people safe,” article siad.
They also accuse Vladimir Putin of “trying to force a sovereign state to abandon its right to democracy and determining the course of [Ukraine’s] future at the barrel of a gun” and wrote “We must increase Ukraine’s capacity to defend itself”.
Obama pleaded for patience, under intense domestic pressure, to set out his strategy for dealing with Islamic State.
“It is going to take time for us to form the regional coalition that’s going to be required so that we can reach out to Sunni tribes in some of the areas that ISIS has occupied, and make sure that we have allies on the ground in combination with the air strikes that we’ve already conducted.” said Obama.
The PM made clear that he strongly believes in the need for a tough and robust response to the appalling war crimes committed by the Assad regime in Ghouta. The PM explained that he wanted to build a consensual approach in Britain for their response and that the Government had accepted the clear view of the House against British military action. President Obama said he fully respected the PM’s approach and that he had not yet taken a decision on the US response.
Officials in Washington and London said that in building an international coalition against ISIS, they were following the approach of the first President George Bush, who assembled a broad-based coalition before throwing Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991.
Some former Labour cabinet members went even further, suggesting America and Britain should make common cause with its long-time foes Iran and even the Syrian President Assad and push ISISnot just out of Iraq, but out its original base Syria as well.