We are watching momentous events in Libya and as I have said on several occasions now, all of us owe a great deal to the bravery and courage of our Journalists, Reporters and Camera Crews.
The Prime Minister was right to express our resolve on the floor of the House of Commons for Mr Cameron was directly addressing the Nation, not England, but the United Kingdom. It is pleasing to see that throughout these challenging times, the devolved government of the UK is not in any way inhibiting the whole Nation from acting as one.
It is also very comforting to know that we have chartered aircraft to carry out a series of airlifts of up to 6,000 of the foreign workers of all nations, currently trapped on the Libyan border; that other nations are acting similarly and we are therefore seeing a practical demonstration of the United Nations working together. Likewise HMS Cumberland and HMS Duke of York are also now undertaking continued rescue of people.
Libya itself is in a mess. It can put up one aircraft and still fail to hit its target, an ammunition dump, after four attempts. What was going to be the rout of the coastal towns this morning by the Libyan People's Army fizzled out.
But we also see the supporters of Colonel Gaddafi becoming very excited and quite honestly living in a dream world. This dream world has every possibility of becoming an absolute nightmare if the present situation becomes a Crisis and that Crisis turns into open Civil War. We saw Civil War in the Balkans, we saw the savagery of a divided people in Kosovo. Foreign military intervention was required.
The present situation is demanding diplomacy at the highest levels. Much is at stake. No doubt we will have Thursday Evening Question Time chuntering on about the West's greed for oil and those spouting that line trying to make all of us feel guilt. But it comes down to simple home economics. The Motorist. The local business reliant upon its fleet of lorries to transport its goods. If the antics of a government in some far away country pushes prices up at the petrol pump, that is when people will think again about military intervention.
If the UN did have to take military action it is doing so for completely different reasons to that which brought about the Second Iraq War.
We do not want to take military action. We do not want to have to commit our troops to a conflict that quickly has the local population turn on them and accuse them of becoming the aggressor, the occupier. What people want to see is the right of the Libyan People to determine their own future, their own Parliament.
The vast majority of the Libyan People want a complete change. They want to enjoy that freedom in life that we take for granted. They want the right to self-determination.
We have the mandate thus far of a unanimous security council resolution. That is unprecedented, for it means that Russia and China too have agreed with that resolution.
We do not want to commit our armed forces, especially given the swinging defence cuts that are being applied. It is a pity that the Government cannot, at this eleventh hour, reverse its decision on scrapping some of our assets.
But I commend the Government also for maintaining a steady course, keeping calm whilst considering all options.
Let us hope that neither the Pentagon nor Whitehall will need to issue an order of the day that sends our armed forces into another war. Let us hope that, somehow, the Libyan People will be able to remove Colonel Gaddafi from power confident in the knowledge that they have the full support of the international community.
Ian Bradley Marshall
LIVERPOOL
3 March 2011
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