Military MPs worry about Libya action

Is Nato the rebel airforce? Sam Macrory finds major reservations about the intervention in Libya among some MPs who have seen military action themselves.

When Dan Jarvis made his maiden speech last Wednesday, the number of Labour MPs in Parliament rose to 255. Also significant, however, is that Jarvis, a former Parachute Regiment member who has seen action in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, is another ex-serviceman-turned-politician.

Be it through a full-time military career, the Territorial Army, or, in the case of Sir Peter Tapsell, national service, nearly one in 13 MPs have experienced military action, with the tally including 14 MPs elected since the last general election,

Tory MP Dan Byles, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps for nine years, is pleased with the increase of military experience. “We have had a problem recently, and thankfully that has turned a corner,” he says. With British forces currently engaged in the no-fly zone over Libya, MPs should feel reassured by the increased military experience in their number, even if ministers are less encouraged by their assessment of the intervention.

“We have all got major reservations,” says Conservative MP Richard Drax, a former officer in the Coldstream Guards. “The prime minister and foreign secretary have been very courageous, and I accept we are saving lives, but we have to be equally brave now and say that we’re getting out. We’ve struck, and I would say ‘job done’. Who are the people we are supporting? Who will replace Gaddafi? Let the people on the ground sort it out, and then we can make friends with whoever is left.”

More critical is John Baron, a former captain in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and the only Conservative MP to vote against the no-fly zone. “We all value human life, but should we be the conscience of the Middle East?” he asks. “No-one has been able to explain what the mission is. Do we walk away if there is stalemate on the ground? Does the UN mandate allow for the bombing of Gaddafi? What do we know about the rebels? We risk being drawn into an ill-defined mission.”

Though supportive of the mission, Byles is “cautious about arming rebels”. “The no-fly zone is the right thing to do, but this has to have the support of the region. If we lose the support of the Arab League, then we have to stop.” Simon Reevell, a former Army officer, believes that discussions over whether to install the no-fly zone have “been handled very well and are a lesson for people dictated by 24-hour news”, while Jason McCartney, Conservative MP for Colne Valley and an officer in the RAF who helped maintain the no-fly zone over Iraq, believes that propaganda is more important than ever. “I don’t think we’ve had a no-fly zone so analysed by rolling news. I’m particularly concerned that the legacy of Iraq is an in-built cynicism over what we are doing, and we will have to work very hard to win the propaganda war. What happens now could influence any other potential future interventions.”

And while Reevell believes that there is “much greater justification for taking action against Gaddafi than there was against Saddam Hussein”, he makes an intriguing observation. “We have a responsibility to protect civilians, but to what extent are there civilians?” he asks. “It appears to be a fight between two parties. Obviously civilians get caught up in that, but what happens if civilians pick up guns and march towards Tripoli? Do we become the rebel airforce? We are achieving our purpose of stopping a massacre and protecting civilians, so you could say that this is an open-ended mission.”

And Jarvis himself, just a few weeks into his Commons career, also expresses worries. “There is a strong legal – and moral – mandate to take action, and I don’t think we should have stood by, but this feels like we are in uncharted waters,” he says. “There is general recognition that if there is a requirement to keep the peace, then that can’t be done from the air. I have obvious concerns about how this will end up.”

These reservations may concern the prime minister, but with the House of Commons possessing more military expertise than for many a year, he can count on further frank advice in the future.

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