Cameron Rebuts Commanders’ Concerns About Libya Campaign
Prime Minister David Cameron issued a stern rebuke Tuesday to Britain’s top military commanders in the air campaign against Libya after they warned in the last week that British forces would come under heavy strain if the air operations continued indefinitely.
Mr. Cameron’s outburst seemed to be prompted by a lead article Tuesday in The Daily Telegraph, a Conservative newspaper with strong military links, that quoted the officer in overall command of Britain’s air operations in Afghanistan and Libya as warning of serious consequences for Britain’s air combat capacity if the Libya operation runs beyond September.
The warning by a top Royal Air Force commander, Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant, following similar remarks last week by the highest-ranking officer in the Royal Navy, Adm. Sir Mark Stanhope, added to the growing disquiet in Western capitals over the Libyan operation.