British Prime Minister David Cameron stated on Thursday that it was time for the British forces to join in the airstrikes against the Islamic State militants in Syria, according to the Indian Express. Cameron argued that Britain cannot "subcontract its security to other countries".
"That is why I believe that we should now take the decision to extend British air strikes against ISIL (Islamic State) into Syria, as an integral part of our comprehensive strategy to degrade ISIL and reduce the threat it poses to us," he wrote in a response to parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.
He reached out to the MPs, who are at splits for deciding to vote for or against the action. Cameron will hold a Commons vote on the Syria airstrikes next week. He does have some work to do as he needs to persuade the conservative MPs who denied his appeal the first time he wanted to launch the airstrikes in 2013. He must also get enough Labour MPs on-board if his plan is to be a success.
During a session, Cameron took questions from 103 MPs for two hours and forty minutes in a debate to convince them to support the airstrikes. Some found his arguments compelling, according to BBC News.
The new forward approach of Cameron comes in the wake of French President François Hollande's campaign to build an international coalition against ISIS. The two met on Monday, after which Cameron seemed inspired to "take action now, to help protect us against the terrorism seen on the streets of Paris and elsewhere".
So far, the UK has been conducting strikes against the ISIS on the Iraqi-front, but has not yet extended its reach towards Syria, where the stronghold of the group lies, according to CNN.
