We have the right strategy in Libya – and the patience and resolve to see it through, writes Liam Fox.
Col Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli in March Photo: REUTERS
By Liam Fox
6:45AM BST 10 Jun 2011
33 Comments
It is now 12 weeks since the start of operations in Libya, where a wide international coalition, under a clear mandate from the United Nations, is engaged in a Nato-led mission to protect the Libyan people. Importantly, this coalition includes Arab countries; now Russia, too, has joined the growing chorus for Gaddafi to stop slaughtering his own people.
We could not stand aside to witness the violence that Gaddafi was unleashing on those he had a duty to protect. Nor could we afford to see Libya again become a rogue state in Europe’s neighbourhood. Gaddafi said he would “cleanse Libya house by house” if he had to. A bloodbath was inevitable. If he had the ability to carpet-bomb Benghazi and Misurata, I’m sure he would have done so. Acting together, we denied him the use of that air power and prevented a massacre that would have gone down in history as a second Srebrenica.
Yet while this action is necessary, legal and right, it is also challenging: we can’t say it will be over by next week, or next month. At the core of our strategy is the protection of civilians. No military action is risk-free, but Nato has strict procedures to do all it can to minimise civilian casualties. We can do this because of our investment in surveillance aircraft and precision weaponry that are so important to co-ordination and targeting. The UK uses state-of-the-art guided weapons, such as Tomahawk missiles fired from HMS Triumph, Brimstones from our Tornados, and Enhanced Paveway munitions from our Typhoons. This is Typhoon’s first multi-role mission, enforcing the no-fly zone and undertaking ground attacks against regime forces: a significant milestone in the delivery of this world-leading capability. Meanwhile, our immensely capable Apache helicopters offer further options.
Minimising civilian casualties in this way is expensive and limits the speed at which military progress can be made. But it is the right thing to do. In fact, it is the core of our mission. It helps maintain support from our Arab partners. More importantly, it demonstrates that we place more value on human life than does Gaddafi. His tactics are the polar opposite: indiscriminately shelling civilians; levelling mosques; attempting to mine sea routes used for humanitarian aid; even (according to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court) authorising rape as a weapon of war.
We have the right strategy – and the patience and resolve to see it through. We should remember that in March, Gaddafi was on the verge of crushing all opposition. Now the situation is fundamentally altered. We have destroyed a great deal of his military capability. We have targeted the organs of the regime that are directing attacks on the Libyan people. We have brought humanitarian relief to those who are suffering.
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The threat to Benghazi has been lifted, and as William Hague and Andrew Mitchell saw on their recent visit, the National Transitional Council is steadily organising an effective alternative to Gaddafi. The situation in Misurata is improving. Unable to oust the opposition from this crucial outpost, Gaddafi’s forces are digging in where they can, retreating where they must, and concealing the military assets he uses to attack his people. His regime is under intense pressure and showing signs of crumbling from within. Every day sees him failing to make any headway, while his forces lose further capability. The longer this goes on, the weaker he grows.
As David Cameron, Barack Obama and Nicholas Sarkozy have said, it is impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gaddafi in power. The Libyans have made it clear that they want to determine their own destiny, and the international community must assist them in rebuilding after the conflict. Until then, we are united in our determination to enforce UN resolutions, and will continue to protect the Libyan people for as long as it takes. As Nato defence ministers reaffirmed yesterday, we will not waver. We have the resolve to see this through.
Dr Liam Fox is Secretary of State for Defence
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Showing 25 of 35 comments
labouractivist
28 seconds agoIf we can find the money for this war Dr. Fox, why are the UK 's Armed Forces getting cut?
If it's right to intervene militarily in Libya, why are we not intervening militarily in Syria?
Who are we actually supporting in Libya and can you categorically state that they are not connected with, nor do they have any sympathy for, Al Qaeda and its objectives?
How long do you think it will take you to realise that the armed mob you've hooked your wagon to is incapable of the urban operations required to prise Gaddafi out of Tunis, no matter how much air support they receive, and that they're probably not to be trusted if they try?
Why have our political and defence establishments learned nothing from the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles?
marxman
4 minutes agoRaining bombs and cruise missiles down on Libya and arming a motley assembly of opportunistic rebels seems a funny way of protecting the Libyan people. Has it ever occurred to Liam Fox that they might not want this sort of 'protection'?
shahrad
20 minutes agoIt is now beyond any shadow of doubt that the British political class, of all parties and persuasions, do not see themselves as fit for governing the country without at least one war under their belts.
What is extremely sad and more worrying is the total apathy of a great majority of the British people towards this dangerous phenomenon that is fast taking deep roots in the British psyche, that unless this country follows America into any armed conflict, then the UK is not worth a mention on world stage!
rabblerouser
30 minutes agoRecommended by
2 peopleThere is no self-awareness here. As Andrew Gilligan has written in a fine piece in last week's Spectator, the Libyan adventure - the product of a government incapable of cool assessment of national interests - merely reflects the petulance of a Cabinet dominated by a clique of Walter Mittys.
FrancisKing
43 minutes agoRecommended by
1 person "More importantly, it demonstrates that we place more value on human life than does Gaddafi."
What happens when one of these Libyan tanks is destroyed in a 'surgical strike'? What happens when the human being inside is injured and cannot get out? Do we need to paint a picture for this man, who is evidently so short of imagination?
If the armed forces of Europe had been organised into a coherent deterrent, then this whole situation would never have arisen. Instead, the usual attitude problems of European leaders has led us into this mess, with the same usual two, Britain and France, laying down the law.
spearofodin
44 minutes agoAaaaaargh - Disqus again - is Disqus working for the Labour Party !
randal
49 minutes agoRecommended by
6 people"Protecting Libya’s innocents is worth the time and cost"
Which cost, to whom? To British taxpayers, facing additional unsustainable debt obligations in order to interfere in another nation's internal affairs?
The cost to Britain's international credibility, already all but insolvent after the Blair years, of the shameless lying to convert a panic UN resolution for "protection of civilians" into the evident policy of violent regime change?
Or the cost to the Libyan soldiers who have already died in droves at the hands of NATO bombs and missiles? The cost to their families and friends?
Or the cost to ordinary Libyans of converting revolutionary unrest into a full-blown civil war?
What will that cost be, Fox? How have you worked out (on their behalf) that it is "worth it"? Who gave you a mandate to make such calculations on behalf of the Libyan people, or to choose from afar which faction represents "the people of Libya"?
It turns out, in the end, that you and the Cameron regime are no better than Blair and his cabal of "humanitarian" warmongers, after all. In truth I had hoped for, but not really expected, better.
spearofodin
51 minutes agoRecommended by
1 person Disqus - get a grip !
Damned machines !
FirstAdvisor
53 minutes agoRecommended by
3 peopleThis essay is a crock of shit from the first sentence to the last. Fox may be deluded and dumb enough to believe what he says, but he's not deceiving many of his own citizens, and he's not fooling many others in the world. No matter what happens in the future, the destruction of their legitimate government will have dire conquences for Libya and the Libyan people. The Western powers clearly want their own puppet to replace Gaddafi and his sons, and only lunatics would believe a puppet of the West will be better for the Libyan people than one of Gaddafi's sons.
kennethes
Today 09:47 AMRecommended by
5 peopleNo, no, no - Britain has no business being involved in Libya, and in now pushing for regime change is acting illegally, outside the mandate provided by UN Resolution 1973.
Libya is not worth the life of one British serviceman or the expenditure of one pound of the British Taxpayers money.
Heavens knows what the cost of Cameron's misguided Libyan military adventure will eventually tally up to, but it is high time these politicians realised that the government has no money,
ITS THE PEOPLES MONEY.
banquo21
48 minutes agoRecommended by
2 peopleThe UK government, along with the French, the Italians and the US will be reimbursing them selves very soon from the "frozen" Libyan peoples assets stored in the western banks. The alleged humanitarian aid finance agreed with "Donor" countries yesterday is backed with hard cash from the LIBYAN peoples bank.
spearofodin
Today 09:45 AMRecommended by
2 peopleThe Libyan War will be seen as Camerons 'Suez Moment', the moment the Tories were revealed as lapdogs of the US and when Britain was revealed as a pathetic, shambling third rate power with an over inflated ego and delusional post-imperial superiority complex.
This attack has nothing to do with 'protecting innocents' or bringing democracy to Libya, it has two dynamics ;
1) to steal Libyan oil
2) to ensure Gaddafi did not create his oil bourse backed on uniting Middle East and African states into selling their oil for a gold backed Libyan currency as opposed to the dollar.
The US is a dying empire, whose power is predicated on three things ;
A) its control of the petro-dollar recycling system via controlling oil sales in dollars
B) Printing dollar fake money via the Federal Reserve which is uses for economic warfare to sustain its empire
C) Its military might
We have tied our destiny to a dying giant, and hence we will fall with it.
Good.
The New World Order must fall, and with it all its dominos, if we are to be free of the curse itself.
The more imperial wars the US and its puppets undertake, the faster the giant will fall.
The people of the world are now imagining a future without the US in power, a world where sovereign nations replace the New World Order.
That is the defining struggle of the 21st century, for all nations and people to reclaim their freedom from the New World Order and the American Imperium.
gladiolys
Today 09:45 AMRecommended by
1 person When even our allies are using rape as a weapon and sealing families in windowless homes to starve, this is patently a load of crap.
http://my.firedoglake.com/slin...
Our government doesn't care what evil we support as long as we get what we want. That makes us as sick and evil as Gaddafi.
strongunitedkingdom
Today 09:44 AMRecommended by
5 peopleFox - Are you vying for first place with Cameron, Clegg, Cable, etc for being the most unbelievable and untrustworthy person in this government?
This aerial bomdardment of Libya is purely opportunistic, imperialist aggression. Do us all a favour and come clean about the real reasons you are there and who is telling you to do this. And spare us the humanitarian intervention lie, that has been the favoured cover for dictators throughout the ages.
Get out of Libya. Stop destroying our armed forces. Start fighting for our own country against the greed, corruption and betrayal of the EU, at whose teat this worthless govt is firmly clamped.
achoquenao
Today 09:43 AMRecommended by
1 person Dr. Fox: you may correctly assume that the majority of those reading your commentary do not hold doctorates. However, it is absurd for you to INCORRECTLY assume that it takes anything approaching a doctorate to see through the lack of substance to your arguments.
It is utterly appalling that you continue to misquote the line about "going house to house", as if the readers will all be fooled by this emotionally-charged but false line taken out of context. If some rebels started an armed rebellion in your own country, your citizens would expect their gov't to take action to quell the violence. Libya is no different.
The crafty play on semantics by you, Cameron, Hague and Co. throughout this ordeal do nothing to change the fact that this intervention was woefully misguided, and it cannot end well since you have defined "success" so simplisticly (eliminating the current Libyan Gov't), without any evidence that things will actually be any better for the people you purport to seek to protect. Shame on you.
olegunnar
Today 09:23 AMRecommended by
11 peopleDr Fox - the vast majority of the electorate did not want the UK to intervene in Libya yet off we went. The vast majority of the electorate want no defence cuts, in fact, want vast increases. But we continue our insane cuts. The vast majority of the electorate want zero overseas aid spending (especially to Pakistan). But it continues at our expense. This isn't strong government, it's sheer blood mindedness. And as for Libya....regardless of who stays or gets in power they will HATE us. They surely will, because all we are doing is creating an opportunity for Islamic fundamentalism to flourish. And the same will happen in Egypt, Syria and anywhere else in the Middle-East/Africa we decide to assist, show our face, or intervene. And if your government does not get that then you are utterly without merit.
sean mark
Today 09:22 AMRecommended by
6 peopleWithout intervention this Al Queda uprising would have been quashed and peace would have returned to Libya by now. Not pretty or ideal I know and yes, some civilians would most likely have been killed along the way. But by far the lesser of the two evils.
Cameron is playing the role of the saviour when in fact he is the hangman. He has blood on his hands just as Blair does. Where the real massacres are happening he does little. The hypocrisy is staggering and intervention ill thought through. Like Iraq and Afghanistan it is a disaster already and will get worse.
NOT IN MY NAME YOU TORY SCUM!!
skicarver
Today 09:05 AMRecommended by
7 peopleIf it is worth it, it is worth funding UK defence to a reasonable level and reversing all of the coalitiona AND labours cuts.
Or we could continue to deliberate degrade our armed forces in order to subjugate the UK people under the heel of the 27 EU communists, er, I mean 27 unelected commissioners.
Jedibeeftrix
Today 09:02 AMRecommended by
1 person re the lessons of libya.
the most important lesson affirmed by libya is the fundamental truth highlighted by the defence concepts and doctrine centre last year:
in a world of accelerating crises where our response is slowed by the need to gather legitimacy, we must not leave ourselves at the mercy of fate by having all expeditionary military resource committed elsewhere on enduring operations.
it is right and proper to retain forces capable of enduring deployment, but we must also retain uncommitted capability of being rapidly deployed on a temporary basis.
this is what 3Cdo, 16AAB, along with carriers and amphibs represent; an always-on ability for limited/punitive intervention.
welcome to strategic raiding, just make sure you get those real-term increases to defence funding post 2015 Dr. Fox!
http://jedibeeftrix.wordpress....
banquo21
Today 08:41 AMRecommended by
8 peopleStart thinking the impossible, the Libyan Government will be around longer than you are a government minister
Maidmarrion
Today 08:39 AMRecommended by
9 peopleI don't know why you bothered to pen this Dr Fox - it looks as though no-one is fooled by your "gallant" stance.
I am utterly ashamed and angry at this excuse for an oil grab by Westminster and Washington.
You have made more enemies for the people of this country to face.
Tell me , were your countrymen inclined to rebel ,arm themselves and take pot shots at Westminster, and you were to respond with greater force,would you find it acceptable for Saudi, Russia ,China ,Pakistan and India to force through a UN resolution to allow Nato to start bombing London in an effort to protect the innocent?
cyan22
Today 08:15 AMRecommended by
10 peopleProtecting Libyan innocents?
What? .... you mean the Libyan people who back the Al Qaeda rebels.
Tripoli is like London during the Blitz where instead of Germany bombing them, they have half the world bombing them !
Anyone who has seen the latest pictures know the likes of Cameron are getting desperate, and don't bat one eyelid at the mass murder of innocent civilians in Tripoli.
This is just plain sickening.
If you are Libyan and you do not agree with Nato and the UN you are dead!
unclesam
Today 08:07 AMRecommended by
4 peopletime2gogo
very nice,but regretably they dont grow cabbages in libya but
there is oil and that is what it is about the blinkers are on.
time2gogo
Today 08:00 AMRecommended by
9 peopleIf it's a slaughter of innocents then there are the bodies of the innocents.The images we are getting are of combatants. I am quite sure that innocents died in shelling and bombing by the Libyan army as innocents are dying daily in the now well over 10,000 bombing raids that NATO have completed.NATO's bombing in Afghanistan has no time limit and the innocents that have died as a result of their bombs are well in their thousands.
If NATO was seriously interested in saving lives they would stop bombing and open dialogue.
Dr Liar Fox was a friend of Libya in March. The UK were training their security forces and BP were selling their oil.
The NTC which the UK is talking to is a pretty vague sort of group and their rag tag army would have long been swept aside and the war would've been over had it not been for NATO intervention.
We wont find out the real reasons for Camerons war until Tripoli has been flattened.
The biggest loser in this whole fiasco is UN legitimacy. Who is going to trust an organisation that takes sides and is very choosy about who they enforce UN resolutions with?
They make NATO a coalition of the concerned when all it is is US aggression being subsidised by Europe in the guise of defence !! Nato is out of conttrol.
larrance
Today 07:57 AMRecommended by
11 peoplethis whole war, from an American point of view, is totally bogus. it has been clear from the beginning that the 'no fly zone' has nothing to do with what is really going on. I wonder how long you brits, and the rest of nato, will continue to lie so flagrantly. the civilians of Libya will be no better off when the current thug is replaced by the next thug. No doubt the whole business, once it has reached its bloody conclusion, will be justified by statements like 'but the world is better off without Gaddafi'. Once the truth was evident with Iraq, the same was said in justification about Saddam. The real truth, the real deal, is that these stupid wars have nothing positive to offer. Replacing a person, a figurehead doesn't speak at all to the genuine problems the nations face. In the end, meet the new boss same as the old boss. One more clue for those in power: if you need to lie to move ahead, maybe it is time for you to step aside.
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