Posted on July 21, 2011 by Phillip Lee

Last Monday I spoke during the debate on implementing the ‘No Fly Zone’ in Libya, confirming my support for the Prime Minister’s decision. I believe it was right for us to have intervened in the Libyan situation to avert a humanitarian crisis. In Benghazi, we have already seen the benefit of our intervention. I am pleased that the UK and its coalition partners have the full support of the United Nations as well as that of the Arab League.

The Libyan intervention does raise key questions about what our foreign policy should be in the future. Those carrying the burdens of the Offices of State are having to witness the long-held, perceived wisdom of foreign policy in the Middle East crumble away. This was a foreign policy based on the ‘realpolitik’ that we needed the gas, we needed the oil and, we needed to deal with whoever was in power, and we could forget the masses because they were ignorant. With the advent of the internet, everyone on the ‘Arab street’ now knows exactly what is going on. They can see it. That is why the ‘movement for freedom’ has spread from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya to Yemen and perhaps soon to Syria. I believe that our foreign policy needs to be redrawn in the light of these realities. With the obvious need for transparency that the internet brings, we cannot afford to be either inconsistent or incoherent.

Whilst a permanent seat on the Security Council gives us power, it also gives us a heavy responsibility. We are a free nation. That raises the question of whether we should try to support others who want to be free. We also have a fossil fuel dependent economy, so I fully understand the reality of our situation with regard to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Would it not be more preferable for us not to be so dependent? In 1973, following the Yom Kippur war, how did we respond to the subsequent energy crisis? We started digging for the ‘black gold’ under the North Sea. How did the French respond? They started building nuclear power stations. Maybe we should be doing the same.

Three weeks ago I joined a delegation to Syria. I went to the British Council in Damascus and met with some students who were learning English. My colleagues and I asked a series of questions about the on-going historic changes in Arab politics. At the end of the meeting, I asked one student how he viewed the British Council, he responded, “It is my bubble of oxygen. It is my opportunity to express myself.” That response will always stay with me. It is why I am prepared to support action in Libya. But if we are to be consistent and coherent in the future and have the respect of the Middle East, we need to start looking at our dependence upon fossil fuels. Unless we do so, I fear that we will be having these debates over and over again.