Cameron Seeks More British Action Against ISIS In Syria

Prime Minister David Cameron wants Britain to do more to help the United States destroy the Islamic State group in Syria, he said in an interview broadcast Sunday. In a speech on Monday, Cameron is to say Britain needs to confront the ideology of extremism by promoting British values such as democracy, freedom and the rule of law and challenge "ludicrous conspiracy theories" of groups such as the Islamic State.

Britain conducts regular airstrikes against ISIS militants in Iraq but has so far limited its Syrian involvement to flying surveillance missions to gather intelligence. Cameron failed to get parliamentary approval for military action against the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2013 but has asked lawmakers to consider whether Britain should now join U.S.-led strikes against ISIS -- which is fighting Assad in Syria.

"I want Britain to do more; I'll always have to take my Parliament with me," Cameron told NBC's "Meet the Press." "We are talking and discussing at the moment, including with the opposition parties in Britain, what more we can do. But be in no doubt we are committed to working with you to destroy the caliphate in both countries."

British government sources say Cameron is expected to wait until after the opposition Labour Party elects its new leader in September to seek a fresh vote on bombing Syria. On Friday the Ministry of Defence said British pilots embedded with U.S. and Canadian forces had taken part in airstrikes in Syria, angering some MPs who said the government had misled Parliament.

When it comes to keeping British youth from trying to join the extremists, "we must deglamorize the extremist cause, especially ISIL. This isn't a pioneering movement, it is vicious, brutal, fundamentally abhorrent," he will say, according to extracts released in advance by his office.

The prime minister will also issue a warning to those thinking of joining the around 700 Britons already thought to have traveled to Syria and Iraq.

"You are cannon fodder for them. They will use you. If you are a boy, they will brainwash you, strap bombs to your body and blow you up. If you are a girl, they will enslave and abuse you. That is the sick and brutal reality of ISIL," he is to say.