MP says actions go beyond Parliament’s mandate
Yesterday afternoon in the House of Commons a Statement was made by Nick Harvey MP, Defence Minister, on the possible deployment of Apache attack helicopters to Libya. This follows claims by the French that, having decided to commit their own helicopters, the British would soon announce they would be following – no announcement has yet been made by the MOD.
John asked:
“Whether the UK deploys attack helicopters or not, the fact our key NATO ally has does represent a significant escalation of the conflict, and is further evidence that regime change is the purpose of our intervention. In the Minister’s view, at what point do our actions on the ground fall outside UN Resolution 1973?”
The Minister replied by stating that UN Resolution 1973 would only be exceeded if troops were landed in Libya.
John said afterwards:
“Whether one uses the term mission creep or regime change, it is quite clear that NATO’s action on the ground goes beyond both the mandate given by Parliament to protect the citizens of Libya and UN Resolution 1973.”
Dear John
I am not a Conservative voter – normally Labour though absolutely sickened by
Afghanistan & Iraq – but I would like to say how much I admire your independent stance over Libya and imagine how agonising this path must sometimes have been for you.
I have been meaning to write to you ever since I first heard your comments on exactly how we would be/ are viewed in the Middle East with yet another incursion into an oil-rich country. Having myself worked and travelled quite a lot in the Arabo/Islamic world, I so much identified with your comments, which I thought were extremely brave, incisive and wholly justified.
I expect you have exposed yourself to some unpleasant mail so just hoped to add my voice to those who value so much the clear and honest expression of your opinion. I only regret that I do not have the opportunity to vote for
you in an election.
Very sincerely
Angela MacTavish
(nr. Bognor Regis)