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Mps Attack Cameron Over Libya 'collapse' by Enapesunday(m): 8:06am On Sep 14, 2016 |
A UK parliamentary report has severely criticised
the intervention by Britain and France that led to
the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
in 2011.
The foreign affairs committee accused the then
PM David Cameron of lacking a coherent strategy
for the air campaign.
It said the intervention had not been "informed by
accurate intelligence", and that it led to the rise
of so-called Islamic State in North Africa.
The UK government said it had been an
international decision to intervene.
The action had been called for by the Arab
League and authorised by the UN Security
Council, the Foreign Office added.
Why is Libya so lawless?
Cameron defends Libya decisions
An international coalition led by Britain and
France launched a campaign of air and missile
strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces in
March 2011 after the regime threatened to attack
the rebel-held city of Benghazi.
But after Gaddafi was toppled, Libya descended
into violence, with rival governments and the
formation of hundreds of militias, while so-called
Islamic State, also known as Isil and Daesh, has
gained a foothold.
Mr Cameron has defended his handling of the
situation, telling MPs in January action was
needed because Gaddafi "was bearing down on
people in Benghazi and threatening to shoot his
own people like rats".
But the foreign affairs committee said the
government "failed to identify that the threat to
civilians was overstated", adding that it
"selectively took elements of Gaddafi's rhetoric at
face value".
The government also failed to identify the
"militant Islamist extremist element in the
rebellion", the MPs said.
"The possibility that militant extremist groups
would attempt to benefit from the rebellion should
not have been the preserve of hindsight," the
committee said, adding: "UK strategy was
founded on erroneous assumptions and an
incomplete understanding of the evidence."
Crispin Blunt, chairman of the committee, told the
BBC: "We were dragged along by a French
enthusiasm to intervene, and the mission then
moved from protecting people in Benghazi, who
arguably were not at the kind of threat that was
then being presented...
"Indeed, on the basis of the evidence we took, the
threat to the people of Benghazi was grossly
overstated."
The committee said "political options" were
available once Benghazi had been secured -
including through ex-PM Tony Blair's contacts
with Gaddafi - but the UK government "focused
exclusively on military intervention".
By the summer of 2011, the limited intervention
to protect civilians had drifted into an opportunist
policy of regime change, the committee said.
"That policy was not underpinned by a strategy
to support and shape post-Gaddafi Libya.
"The result was political and economic collapse,
inter-militia and inter-tribal warfare, humanitarian
and migrant crises, widespread human rights
violations, the spread of Gaddafi regime weapons
across the region and the growth of Isil in North
Africa.
"Through his decision-making in the National
Security Council, former prime minister David
Cameron was ultimately responsible for the failure
to develop a coherent Libya strategy."
The MPs said Libya had been the "first test " for
the NSC, which was set up in 2010 to coordinate
responses to security threats and integrate the
work of various relevant government departments.
The committee said there should now be an
independent review of the operation of the NSC,
which is chaired by the prime minister, to see if it
had succeeded in addressing the weaknesses in
government decision-making identified in the run-
up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The Foreign Office defended the intervention.
"Muammar Gaddafi was unpredictable and he had
the means and motivation to carry out his
threats," a spokesman said.
"His actions could not be ignored and required
decisive and collective international action.
Throughout the campaign we stayed within the
United Nations mandate to protect civilians.
"After four decades of Gaddafi misrule, Libya
undoubtedly faces huge challenges. The UK will
continue to play a leading role within the
international community to support the
internationally recognised Libyan Government of
National Accord." |
Re: Mps Attack Cameron Over Libya 'collapse' by HtwoOw: 8:08am On Sep 14, 2016 |
That was meant to happen |
Re: Mps Attack Cameron Over Libya 'collapse' by orisa37: 10:02am On Sep 14, 2016 |
ISIS, ISIL, DAESH, ISWA Bokoharam and whatever names they are called, are not good for Africa. Ghaddaffi was not good either, so good riddance. Now, Britain, France and the US must work together to get rid of ISIS from wherever in the Universe. It's evil religious sect and an ill wind. |
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