8:24am UK, Wednesday March 02, 2011
William Hague's claim that the UK may go it alone and impose a no-fly zone over Libya without the UN sounds eerily familiar.
William Hague says a no-fly zone over Libya is an option
Remember Tony Blair's headlong dash to invade Iraq in 2003 without a second United Nations resolution?
In a surprise move, the Foreign Secretary said while "ideally" a no-fly zone would be sanctioned by a resolution of the UN Security Council, it was not necessarily essential.
"There have been occasions in the past when such a no-fly zone has had clear, legal, international justification even without a Security Council resolution," he said. "It depends on the situation on the ground."
Mr Hague's threat came after Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, dismissed David Cameron's call for plans to be drawn up for a no-fly zone, saying the idea was "superfluous".
As one of the five permanent members Russia is able to veto any resolution tabled at the Security Council.
Sound familiar?
In 2003 it was France, under President Chirac, opposing George W Bush and Tony Blair at the UN against their determination to topple Saddam Hussein in Iraq without a crucial second resolution.
It was the failure to get that second resolution that triggered all the claims by the Iraq war's opponents that it was illegal and led to all the inquiries into the legal process leading up to the war, including the Hutton inquiry following the death of Government scientist Dr David Kelly and latterly the Chilcot inquiry.
And, of course, it sparked the constant attempts by anti-war campaigners to brand Tony Blair a war criminal.
Not surprisingly, Mr Hague has acknowledged the Cabinet would have to take "full legal advice" before embarking with allies on a no-fly zone without a Security Council mandate.
"You would certainly need a very strong degree of international support," he said.
You can say that again, Foreign Secretary.
After proposing a no-fly zone in his Commons statement on Monday, David Cameron's tone - and that of his official No. 10 spokesman - has now become noticeably less gung-ho than Mr Hague's.
"Clearly there are certain sets of circumstances where a no-fly zone may be appropriate, but we are not at that stage," the Prime Minister's spokesman said.
At a Downing Street news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Mr Cameron distanced himself from suggestions the UK could arm anti-Gaddafi opposition groups who have seized control of Libya's second city, Benghazi.
Interactive Map: Key Strongholds In Libya
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"We are trying to step up our contact with them so we can get to know them better and know what their intentions are," he said.
"I don't think we should go beyond that for now. Clearly we hope that this will come to an end more quickly, but I think our job is to try to look around the corner and plan for every eventuality."
So would David Cameron want to go down in history, like Tony Blair, as a Prime Minister accused of taking the UK into an illegal war?
I doubt it very much.
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