THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Telegraph View: Our RAF pilots are entitled to know why they are risking their lives in Libya. Regrettably, no coherent explanation has been given.When British forces are put in harm's way, as RAF pilots are in the skies over Libya, they are entitled to expect absolute clarity about the purpose of their mission. We ask them to risk their lives for us: they are entitled to know why. Regrettably, no such clarity has accompanied the early stages of the action to uphold UN Resolution 1973.
On Sunday, Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said that targeting Gaddafi personally "would potentially be a possibility" under the terms of the UN resolution. When the same question was put to General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, yesterday, he replied: "Absolutely not. It is not allowed under the UN resolution and it is not something I want to discuss any further." At the best of times, it would be alarming to see the political head of the Ministry of Defence publicly at odds with the military head. At a time of conflict, it is unforgivable. Matters quickly went from bad to worse as No 10 briefed that Sir David was "wrong" – not the message you want to hear about your military commander when we are at war. Admittedly, events have been moving quickly. As David Cameron told the Commons yesterday, it had been a "race against time to avoid the slaughter of civilians in Benghazi". Even so, that cannot excuse such discordancy. Both the minister and the general must have been sitting around the same table, listening to the same briefing on the legality and implications of the UN resolution. How could they possibly emerge with such contrasting analyses? Continue reading and comment » | Telegraph View | Monday, March 21, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Is Muammar Gaddafi a target? PM and military split over war aims: David Cameron says Libyan leader may be a legitimate target while Chief of the Defence Staff said he was 'absolutely not' » | Patrick Wintour and Ewen MacAskill in Washington | Tuesday, March 22, 2011
