COMMONS DEBATE:DIFFERENCES HAVE emerged between the British government and senior British military officers about whether Col Muammar Gadafy can be legitimately targeted during the current round of air strikes.
In the House of Commons, prime minister David Cameron said targets chosen would be “fully consistent with the United Nations resolution”, but he went on: “We should not give a running commentary on targeting and I do not propose to say any more than that.”
Earlier, defence secretary Liam Fox and foreign secretary William Hague had both refused to rule out a so-called “decapitation” attack on the Libyan leader, who was targeted in 1986 by American bombers.
Leaving Downing Street, chief of the defence staff Gen David Richards curtly denied that Col Gadafy could be targeted: “Absolutely not. It is not allowed under the UN resolution and it is not something I want to discuss any further.” Later, however, a Downing Street spokesman said that while the removal of the Libyan leader was not the aim of the UN resolution, it would become a legal act to bring it about if it was deemed necessary to protect civilians.
The use of RAF and navy missile strikes was overwhelmingly supported in last night’s vote, although many MPs are concerned about the lack of clarity on the operation’s aims.
In a confident display, Mr Cameron said military action had been necessary to stop the Libyan leader overwhelming opposition forces. “It [has] helped to avert what could have been a bloody massacre in Benghazi. In my view they did so just in the nick of time,” he said.
Rejecting the argument from one Conservative MP that the West should have waited for Arab League aircraft to take the lead in the bombing, Mr Cameron said if they had waited for that, Col Gadafy “would have rolled up the whole of his country in the next 24 to 48 hours”. He rejected arguments, even before they were made, that the operation had any similarities with Iraq, stressing the legal basis for the attacks given by the UN resolution.
The government’s position at home has been strengthened by the decision, for now, of Labour leader Ed Miliband to support the action. “It is a just cause, with a feasible mission and it has international support,” he told MPs.
No 10 is struggling to deal with differences with the US, which wants to hand over daily command of operations as quickly as possible, and with Germany and Turkey, who do not want Nato to take up leadership. Mr Cameron made clear the British preference for Nato command. A spokesman for Mr Cameron last night insisted it remained the UK’s “preferred option’, and indicated that pressure would now be put on the Germans and Turks.