The atrocious murder of David Haines puts the United Kingdom and in particular Prime Minister David Cameron front and center in the evolving battle against ISIS . It 's not as though he is short of work , with a referendum in Scotland this week and a problematic relationship with the European Union among current elections next year dominating a crowded schedule . But the PM must now mobilize the British public for another campaign in Iraq , mindful that the last one was widely opposed . Revulsion at the beheading of three hostages will likely provide a bedrock of support . There are a wide variety of options including : surveillance and support operations , limited airstrikes against ISIS positions in Iraq , extending those airstrikes to ISIS targets in Syria or even inserting Special Forces in support of the Syrian resistance , Iraqi Kurds or the Iraqi military . Cameron has been forthright about his government 's determination to take down ISIS , saying at the weekend : `` Step by step we will drive back , dismantle and ultimately destroy ISIL [ also used as an acronym for the group ] and what it stands for . We will do so in a calm , deliberate way but with an iron determination . '' He added : `` We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice , however long it takes . '' `` Ultimately '' and `` However long it takes '' imply an indefinite campaign . Implying the UK would join in air strikes , British Defense Minister Michael Fallon has told Royal Air Force personnel involved in surveillance flights : `` There may well now be in the next few weeks and months other ways that we may need to help save life and protect people . '' And that 's just one element of this strategy . Cameron has been expansive about prodding the Iraqi government toward being more inclusive , saying it `` badly needs to get itself together so it can represent all of the country . '' He is in favor of arming the Kurds , which in itself may be at odds with the aim of a unified Iraq , about mobilizing Arab states as part of a broad coalition to squeeze ISIS and about revitalizing moderate rebel groups in Syria . The means and the goals of this multi-faceted campaign are yet to be fleshed out . In the words of his spokesman last week , `` In terms of specific decisions about participation in further action , we are not at the stage of taking those decisions . '' For example , Cameron has been cautious about whether air strikes might be extended to Syria . Cameron maintains that `` President [ Bashar al- ] Assad has committed war crimes on his own people and is therefore illegitimate . '' But other parties in Britain are wary of air strikes in Syria , regarding them as dubious in international law . And many commentators believe some sort of understanding or accommodation with the Assad regime is an essential condition of effective action against ISIS strongholds in Raqqa and Idlib provinces . Even Britain 's Foreign Secretary , Philip Hammond , was out of step with Downing Street last week . `` Let me be clear , Britain will not be taking part in air strikes in Syria , '' he told a news conference in Berlin . Hours later the PM 's office said nothing had been ruled out . One Conservative MP , John Baron , who is a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee , cautioned : `` Air strikes into Syria are fraught with risks . The legal , technical and military differences between strikes in Iraq and Syria are marked . The UK should be advising caution . '' But on Sunday came the first hint that the U.S. would be looking to allies for the Syrian part of the campaign . Secretary of State John Kerry told CBS Face The Nation : `` We are going to do what they [ the Syrians ] have n't done , what they had plenty of opportunity to do , which is to take on ISIL and to degrade it and eliminate it as a threat . '' `` We will do that with allies , '' he added . But Britain 's military is already stretched . Units are still deployed in Afghanistan and the armed forces are hurting from a squeeze on defense spending . The Royal United Services Institute , a think-tank on military issues , concluded in a report this month that `` on current spending plans and growth projections ... .UK defense spending is set to fall below the NATO 2 per cent target for the first time next financial year , to an estimated 1.88 per cent of GDP in 2015/16 . '' British planes would probably have to operate from Cyprus , flying a long circuitous route over Turkey to targets in northern Iraq . NATO flew 14,000 sorties in Libya to degrade the Gadhafi regime . Destroying ISIS may not be such a protracted effort , but it would be more than a commitment of a few weeks . And over Syria , planes would face the risk of encountering the Syrian air force and air defenses . A British pilot falling into the hands of ISIS or the Syrian regime is the stuff of nightmares . There is the additional dilemma that any military action may hasten more beheadings of hostages , with another British citizen possibly the next victim . And the coalition being mobilized is -- at best -- disparate , including 10 members of NATO and Middle Eastern states , including Jordan and Saudi Arabia . The division of labor among these states is yet to be worked out , though American officials are suggesting Arab states may provide air power and Kerry pronounced himself `` extremely encouraged '' by the response from governments on his latest tour of the region . Some British politicians are more skeptical . The veteran Liberal Democrat MP , Menzies Campbell , warned last month that `` a unified approach will be essential with no room for dissent or compromise between countries . The jihadists of IS [ the Islamic State , as it calls itself ] will most certainly test political resolve as well as security challenges . '' Public support . Even before the murder of David Haines , opinion in Britain was moving toward air strikes . A ComRes poll for the Independent newspaper at the end of August found that 35 % backing , with 50 % opposed . A week later that support had nearly doubled , according to a poll by Opinium Research for the Daily Telegraph . And 27 % said they would support Special Forces on the ground . Cameron enjoys broad support for the domestic part of his anti-ISIS platform , which may include legislation to prevent suspected British extremists from traveling to Iraq and Syria and stopping those already there from coming home . Polls suggest public support higher than 80 % for such moves . But identifying and tracking such people is a tall order -- and British military action could incite some of the several hundred British citizens thought to be fighting in Syria and Iraq to bring terror home . A successful campaign over several months that squeezed ISIS into insignificance could bring political rewards at home . Cameron may be able to claim his decisive leadership was instrumental in facing down the world 's most dangerous terror group , incidentally deflecting attention from thorny issues like immigration and Europe , where his Conservative Party is under pressure from the insurgent UK Independence Party . But with a general election due by May next year , taking on ISIS is fraught with peril for the British PM .
PM mobilizing British public for new campaign in Iraq , mindful last campaign was widely opposed . David Cameron has been cautious about whether air strikes might be extended to Syria . UK military is weak . Forces still remain in Afghanistan , defense spending is squeezed . Dilemma is that any military action may hasten more beheadings of hostages , said Tim Lister .