Irked by Warnings, British PM Tells Military Leadership to Shut Up About Libya

'You Do the Fighting and I'll Do the Talking'

Warnings from top British military officials, including Navy Chief Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope have cautioned that the Libyan War is unsustainable for the nation beyond the next few months. Their efforts are aimed at selling parliament on bigger budgets, but are also raising growing questions about the war in general.

It is also just the latest in a growing number of breaks between Prime Minister David Cameron and his military leadership, with reports today that he lashed the leaders for criticism and told them “you do the fighting and I’ll do the talking.

Britain’s military leadership has been pushing for escalation virtually since the war began, and has also been pushing back hard against Cameron’s calls to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in July.

Cameron, for his part, has rejected the military’s demands for bigger budgets, saying they “always want more” no matter what they are given, and seems to be pushing for more tight control by the civilian government over the military’s pursestrings.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.