I saw Nick Harvey MP, our Armed Forces Minister, on TV this morning refusing to rule out the use of ground forces in Libya. When he was asked if we had an exit strategy, he replied, 'How long is a piece of string?'
That is scary. Iraq here we come again.
Bear in mind that the politicians are telling us the UK is broke. There are supposed to be swingeing cuts everywhere. People are losing their jobs. Unemployment is at 8%. Yet we have the cash to send aircraft - but not on an aircraft carrier - we can't afford one of those with planes on it - to a far-away country of which we know little.
Who are these rebels we are supporting? Colonel Gaddafi may well be a bad sort, but are these guys better? Or are they, as Gaddafi plausibly contends, Al Qaeda / Muslim Brotherhood types who will even worse for the West - and, crucially, for Israel - than the Bedouin soldier in charge right now?
'We cannot stand by while Gaddafi uses violence against his own people', say Messrs Cameron and Obama. Excuse me, isn't that what countries in a civil war do? Isn't it what law and order involves? Of course Gaddafi is a murderous despot, but where were we when Robert Mugabe was murdering his own people? Or any other non-oil-rich regime around the world?
Already the Arab League say we are going too far. 'That's not what we had in mind when we agreed to a no-fly zone', and don't expect similar action against Bahrain. The US 5th fleet is harboured there. Peter Hitchens put al this better than I can.
But I fell to thinking about this 'violence against one's people' argument and I am not sure we are as sqeaky-clean as David Cameron assumes. After all, don't our police use violence against demonstrators? Didn't they bash up the student anarchists, the class-war nutcases, even the countryside marchers? And when they kill the odd civilian, like a man carrying a table-leg, a Brazilian electrician, an innocent passer-by, is any police officer ever brought to book? Of course not. Yet Gaddafi must answer for his crimes.
Already the Arab League say we are going too far. 'That's not what we had in mind when we agreed to a no-fly zone', and don't expect similar action against Bahrain. The US 5th fleet is harboured there. Peter Hitchens put al this better than I can.
But I fell to thinking about this 'violence against one's people' argument and I am not sure we are as sqeaky-clean as David Cameron assumes. After all, don't our police use violence against demonstrators? Didn't they bash up the student anarchists, the class-war nutcases, even the countryside marchers? And when they kill the odd civilian, like a man carrying a table-leg, a Brazilian electrician, an innocent passer-by, is any police officer ever brought to book? Of course not. Yet Gaddafi must answer for his crimes.
WRITE urgently to your MP:
These are the rules for writing any letter or email to your MP:
1 Ask your MP to ask a question of the minister responsible. (In this case the Secretary of State for Defence.) This ensures you will get a reply. Never write to a minister direct. It makes your MP look redundant. Kill two birds with one stone.
2 Be precise. Do not ramble. State the matter in the first paragraph and make each point concisely. I always try to say everything on one well-spaced page. If you go to three pages, you have lost the game.
3 Be patient. Assume your MP knows nothing about the case, so explain carefully (but precisely!)
4 Be accurate. Do your own research or rely on a group like Christian Voice who check everything.
5 Be legible. If your handwriting is not up to it, type it or email and spell-check.
6 Be calm. No ranting and raving, no over-the-top comments, no snide remarks.
7 Ask your MP to agree with you if the occasion arises. This could be your question (see 1).
8 Keep to one subject. If two things are on your mind, write two letters, a couple of days apart.
Letters are always written to your MP at: House of Commons, LONDON, SW1A 0AA
1 Ask your MP to ask a question of the minister responsible. (In this case the Secretary of State for Defence.) This ensures you will get a reply. Never write to a minister direct. It makes your MP look redundant. Kill two birds with one stone.
2 Be precise. Do not ramble. State the matter in the first paragraph and make each point concisely. I always try to say everything on one well-spaced page. If you go to three pages, you have lost the game.
3 Be patient. Assume your MP knows nothing about the case, so explain carefully (but precisely!)
4 Be accurate. Do your own research or rely on a group like Christian Voice who check everything.
5 Be legible. If your handwriting is not up to it, type it or email and spell-check.
6 Be calm. No ranting and raving, no over-the-top comments, no snide remarks.
7 Ask your MP to agree with you if the occasion arises. This could be your question (see 1).
8 Keep to one subject. If two things are on your mind, write two letters, a couple of days apart.
Letters are always written to your MP at: House of Commons, LONDON, SW1A 0AA
Emails can also be sent. You need to know either your MP's name or your Parliamentary Constituency. Both of these, together with email addresses may be found here on the Parliament website. If you know neither your MP nor your constituency you can simply type your postcode in a box. In fact, that is the easiest way to get staight to his/her contact details.
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