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Libya: UK government

The UK Parliament has been busy today. Late this afternoon coalition chancellorGeorge Osborne got to his feet to present his Spring budget to the House and the nation. The more pressing task of today's sitting though was Libya.
Fair enough the UK budget is what affects we Britons directly. In some ways the budget was less harsh than expected. Perhaps it was thought prudent to give a little right now. After all having spent months telling the UK that we are on the verge of financial ruin we seem to be able to fund yet more military action in the world.
The BBC has reported that today's debate on Libya included statements such as:
"We have crossed a threshold" said Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative MP. "Honourable members should have no illusions that there is no such thing as limited war, in all its bloody terror and dirt."
Mark Lancaster, Conservative, a member of the Territorial Army who has served in several war zones, declared:
"I have yet to meet a soldier who has been to war who would rush to another one. It is difficult to experience the horrors of war first hand and ever be the same again. I am a firm believer that jaw-jaw is better than war-war, but I accept that the time for jaw-jaw sometimes comes to an end and we must act."
So what did all this talk eventually lead to?
Despite the House on the whole supporting the military action in Libya some MPs expressed their concern. What seemed to make them the most nervous was where the current task force action was leading.
The debate included many speeches by MPs. As one Liberal Democrat said: In opposition the Lib Dems expressed concern over military budget cuts and over stretching the military. If the government is now going to become engaged in a lengthy bout of action in Libya, what will happen to Afghanistan?.
Part of the problem is also what happens when the no fly zone over Lybia is properly in force, if a ceasefire holds and Gaddafi remains.
Mark Lancaster, quoted earlier in this report, said later in the day: "One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was never to go into a room without knowing where the exit is. I fear that we have no clear exit at the moment in Libya. That is understandable; anyone who stood up in this House with a clear idea of exactly how we will exit the situation would be at best naive."
However, it would seem that this rather unclear situation about how this mission could end and what sort of exit strategy the UK has is causing great concern amongst our MPs.
In the past the UK has felt the wrath of Gaddafi in many ways. We allowed the US to use UK air bases to bomb Tripoli and were rewarded with Gaddafi sending the Irish rebel army weaponry. These Irish rebels were also supported by many in the US. If Gaddafi were to survive once more one can only guess what could be in store for the UK. However, as a country we never bow before bullies.

08:21 | |

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