Barack Obama blasts David Cameron for letting Libya plunge into a ‘mess’

BARACK Obama has attacked David Cameron for letting Libya plunge into a “mess” and accused Europe of too often seeking to take a “free ride” on American military might, it emerged last night.

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Barack Obama claimed David Cameron got ‘distracted’ from stabilising Libya

The US president, who leaves the White House at the end of this year, claimed David Cameron got “distracted” from stabilising Libya after joining American-led military action to protect rebels from massacre by the now-toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi.In interviews and analysis by The Atlantic magazine of his foreign policy, Mr Obama voiced “aggravation” with “free riders” in the world who demanded action in crises but withheld their own military resources.

It also emerged he had warned Mr Cameron that Britain could not maintain its “special relationship” with the US if it did not commit to spending at least the Nato target of two per cent of national output on defence – a pledge the Conservatives made soon after.

“You have to pay your fair share,” Mr Obama is said to have told the PM last year.Mr Obama said he involved the US in strikes on Libya in 2011, against the advice of some advisors that it was not America’s problem, because “the way I looked at it was that it would be our problem if complete chaos and civil war broke out in Libya”.

But it had not been so “core” to US interests that it made sense for America to act alone.

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Mr Obama said he involved the US in strikes on Libya in 2011 despite advisors telling him not to

“At that point, you’ve got Europe and a number of Gulf countries who despise Gaddafi, or are concerned on a humanitarian basis, who are calling for action.”But what has been a habit over the last several decades in these circumstances is people pushing us to act but then showing an unwillingness to put any skin in the game… Free riders.

“So what I said at that point was, we should act as part of an international coalition.

“But because this is not at the core of our interests, we need to get a UN mandate; we need Europeans and Gulf countries to be actively involved in the coalition; we will apply the military capabilities that are unique to us, but we expect others to carry their weight.”

Insisting that European countries join the action, Mr Obama added “was part of the anti–free rider campaign”.

The intervention had prevented mass civilian casualties and a “prolonged and bloody civil conflict” but “despite all that, Libya is a mess”, he went on.

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The US president said Europe called for action against Gaddafi but failed to get actively involved

“When I go back and I ask myself what went wrong, there’s room for criticism, because I had more faith in the Europeans, given Libya’s proximity, being invested in the follow-up.”Mr Cameron had quickly stopped paying attention to Libya as he was “distracted by a range of other things” while America had tolerated Nicolas Sarkozy’s exaggerating his role in exchange for French contributions that cut US cost and risk.

Mr Obama – who began his presidency resolved to distance himself from predecessor George Bush’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – said Libya showed him “there is no way we (the US) should commit to governing the Middle East and North Africa”.

He also cited Mr Cameron’s failure to win Commons backing in 2013 for military action against the Syrian regime after it used chemical weapons as a “major factor” in his own decision to call off a planned attack.

Mr Cameron’s official spokeswoman said the PM had made clear he still believed acting in Libya was “absolutely the right thing to do” and had also continued efforts to support the country, including putting it on the agenda for the UK’s G8 summit in 2013.

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American taxpayers want Europeans to pay more for their own defence

“I think the PM would share the President’s assessment that there are some real challenges in Libya,” she said.”That’s why we are continuing to work hard with our international partners including the US and through the UN to support a process in Libya to put in place a government that could bring stability to that country.

“I do accept Libya is a challenge, yes. Are we doing all we can to support it? Yes.”

On Mr Obama’s comments about how the UK should meet the Nato defence spending target, she said: “I’m not going to get into conversations between the Prime Minister and the President.”

Conservative MP and former Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “America now carries 72 per cent of the Nato military budget and it is completely understandable that American taxpayers want Europeans to pay more for their own defence.

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Sir Gerald Howarth said more money should have gone into defence instead of on overseas aid

“Too many Europeans think they can take a free ride on the back of the American defence budget.”Tory MP and former Defence Minister Sir Gerald Howarth said Mr Obama’s call for Britain to meet the Nato spending target echoed his own longheld belief that “soft power” like overseas aid was wasted unless there was sufficient investment in military “hard power” resources including manpower.

“This was a warning shot to us, to ensure that we stand alongside our US allies. Instead of spending an extra £5billion on overseas aid, at last half should have gone to defence, and even now should do so,” said Sir Gerald.

Shashank Joshi, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute defence thinktank, said there was an “element” of truth in Mr Obama’s claim that Britain “took its eye off the ball” on issues like controlling weapons in Libya after Gaddafi’s downfall.

But the Libyan people had not wanted more direct outside intervention, Mr Joshi told Sky News: “I want to push back against the idea we should have stabilised the country with troops. That wasn’t on the cards in 2011.”

Mr Joshi added that Mr Obama’s attack on countries not doing enough militarily was not solely aimed at Britain but Chancellor George Osborne might not have committed to the Nato spending target had Mr Obama and his aides not “shamed” the UK into it.On Syria, Mr Joshi said Mr Obama had actually been “looking for an excuse” not to strike the Syrian regime in 2013 and Mr Cameron’s Commons defeat on UK action had made the President’s decision easier.

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http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/651616/Obama-blasts-David-Cameron-letting-Libya-plunge-into-mess