CAMERON – AT 10:04 A.M. ET:  It strikes me that the most eloquent statements about the crisis in the Mideast are coming from Britain's David Cameron.  He has a backbone.  Physicians are still trying to locate one in our president.  X-ray reports are coming soon.  David Cameron's statement of determination, in the face of the beheading of a British captive by ISIS, bears noting.  From The Guardian: 

"We are a peaceful people. We do not seek out confrontation, but we need to understand we cannot ignore this threat to our security and that to our allies. There is no option of keeping our heads down that would make us safe. The problem would merely get worse, as it has done over recent months, not just for us but for Europe and the rest of the world. We cannot just walk on by if we are to keep this country safe. We have to confront this menace.

"Step by step, we must drive back, dismantle and ultimately destroy Isil [Isis] and what it stands for. We will do so in a calm and deliberate way, but with an iron determination. We will not do so on our own, but by working closely with our allies, not just the United States and in Europe, but also in the region because this organisation poses a massive threat to the entire Middle East."

Listing five things the government will do, Cameron said the UK would back the Iraqi government and arm the Kurds, work with the UN to mobilise against Isis, support the US air strikes, continue with humanitarian aid and protect UK citizens against terrorism at home.

His remarks did not appear to represent a change of strategy, but he appeared to have increased his rhetoric against Isis, keeping open the option of joining air strikes. UK Tornados are currently helping with surveillance and intelligence-gathering.

Cameron said: "This is not about British combat troops on the ground, it is about working with others to extinguish this terrorist threat. As this strategy intensifies, we are ready to take whatever steps are necessary to deal with this threat and keep our country safe."

The British prime minister is under pressure to join the US military action from some within his party, including former defence secretary Liam Fox. However, other Tory MPs are more reluctant to see Britain get caught up in war in Iraq once more.

COMMENT:  Cameron is in an especially difficult position.  He understands the problem, but Britain has become a welfare state with a vast fifth column of Muslim immigrants.  The political left, including the more leftish "conservatives" have no interest in fighting in the Mideast, no matter how great the threat.  And there is wariness about allying with an America increasingly seen as unreliable.

I wish Cameron had more power, and I wish Britain would give its Ministry of Defence the tools to do a larger job.  Islamic militants look at a West that is lazy, decadent, and run by people who see their main mission as buying votes with social programs.  In the end, it is the United States that must lead, and David Cameron is looking at President Zero and Secretary of State Minus Fifteen.

September 14,  2014