ktlight
22nd April 2011, 14:57
Liam Fox compared the crisis in Libya to the war in Afghanistan yesterday, opening Britain to the prospect of a decade-long battle to oust Colonel Gaddafi.
The Defence Secretary said Britain was committed to training the Libyan rebels, in the same way as the Army is seeking to build up the Afghan security forces.
His words, during a Nato meeting in Italy, immediately sparked fears that Britain risks being sucked into an open-ended commitment in Libya.
On Tuesday, Britain committed to sending ten soldiers to Libya to help the rebels build a fighting force capable of ousting the dictator. But Dr Fox indicated the UK may have to do more over many years.
He said the situation was ‘not that different from what’s happening in Afghanistan, where we’ve decided that training up security forces so that the Afghans themselves can look after their security is the best way forward’.
Dr Fox said ‘the best way in which we can assist’ the Libyan rebels ‘is to give them some technical capabilities in how to organise themselves’.
But his words will dishearten military commanders, who have been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001 and face the prospect of another four years of training Afghan forces before David Cameron’s exit deadline of 2015. They are withering about the capability of the Libyan opposition, describing them as ‘a rabble’.
Senior military officers have revealed that Mr Cameron and other ministers are ‘clutching at straws’ as they search for a military answer to the Libyan conflict.
source
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379051/Libya-new-Afghanistan-says-Liam-Fox.html
The Defence Secretary said Britain was committed to training the Libyan rebels, in the same way as the Army is seeking to build up the Afghan security forces.
His words, during a Nato meeting in Italy, immediately sparked fears that Britain risks being sucked into an open-ended commitment in Libya.
On Tuesday, Britain committed to sending ten soldiers to Libya to help the rebels build a fighting force capable of ousting the dictator. But Dr Fox indicated the UK may have to do more over many years.
He said the situation was ‘not that different from what’s happening in Afghanistan, where we’ve decided that training up security forces so that the Afghans themselves can look after their security is the best way forward’.
Dr Fox said ‘the best way in which we can assist’ the Libyan rebels ‘is to give them some technical capabilities in how to organise themselves’.
But his words will dishearten military commanders, who have been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001 and face the prospect of another four years of training Afghan forces before David Cameron’s exit deadline of 2015. They are withering about the capability of the Libyan opposition, describing them as ‘a rabble’.
Senior military officers have revealed that Mr Cameron and other ministers are ‘clutching at straws’ as they search for a military answer to the Libyan conflict.
source
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379051/Libya-new-Afghanistan-says-Liam-Fox.html