UK Prime Minister David Cameron rejected any suggestions that Western nations are at war with Islamic terrorism, saying that gives the perpetrators of attacks too much stature.
“It has many similar aspects, but my way of expressing this is that this is just a huge challenge our society faces,” Cameron said in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program scheduled for broadcast Sunday morning in the U.S.
“What I don’t want to do is try and posit that there’s some clash of civilizations going on, because that is what the terrorists want.”
Cameron’s comments came as Belgium deployed troops amid a heightened threat level, following last week’s attacks in Paris by Islamist gunmen and the arrests of at least 28 people across the European continent.
Cameron said that instead what governments face is a “death cult” that has perverted Islam.
He also said that while further attacks against the U.K. are “highly likely,” the country is used to facing this threat.
“We know what it takes to win, but it’s going to take a lot of perseverance,” he said.
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