LIBYAN Precipice: I spent time talking with senior Members of Parliament belonging to the Conservative Party this week.
Those MPs were both entertaining and insightful, regarding the shared concerns of the Liberal Democrats, and also of the country.
Chief amongst these concerns was the on-going worry about whether we were doing the right thing in Libya, by supporting – in ever more concrete ways – the intentions and actions of the ‘Rebels’ who are fighting to overthrow the forces of current Libyan Supremo, Colonel Gaddafi.
Sadly – and worryingly – there is a great lack of interest amongst the British General Public about what is going on in that troubled part of the world.
There are people who are fully supportive of us spending millions of pounds fighting the Gaddafi regime, even though ‘regime change’ is a very risky business – and the very thing which got us into insurmountable trouble in Afghanistan.
And there are those who think we should have nothing to do with the whole affair.
So, where do YOU stand? It’s simply not good enough to say “it’s none of my business.”
Frankly, it IS your business: money and, more than likely, military lives, will be spent in defence of the rebel uprising.
All this, despite the fact that our involvement in the situation out there was intended, originally at least, to be simply in the interests of protecting civilians who have ended up face-to-face with Gaddafi’s forces.
While this continues to be a controversial claim, I propose that we are overreaching ourselves, as a western power, by supporting the rebels; and thinking, arrogantly, that we can positively influence politics in the region through military muscle-flexing.
I respectfully ask you to write to our MP. Ask for the reasoning to support an action which, as things stand, has no clear goal – and no clear exit strategy.
As an MP for 13 years, I always considered the consequences of what I voted for.
On matters of war, I felt the pressure to ‘do the right thing’ – more than at any other motivation.
Once again, we are faced with similar questions of principle.
It is a credit to the County Times that it is willing to facilitate this crucial debate – and a credit to our democracy that we can hold our elected representatives to account through our regional press.
I look forward to that dialogue, because, more than anything else, the answers to these questions are a question of life and death – both to civilians in Libya, and to our brave soldiers on the front line.
We are standing on a precipice, and, given the errors of the past, we can’t afford to get it wrong again.