
David Cameron?s defence of citizens in Libya has been more admirable than his efforts at home.
As the battle for Libya raged on, those who uphold a free world dared to hope. But even as the forces who rose up against Muammar Gaddafi contemplated their day of celebration, nothing looked certain. Recent history shows that the hubris unleashed when a destructive regime starts to topple may prefigure a new era of nemesis.
The shadow of Iraq, a monument to bloodshed and instability, hangs over Tripoli. In Afghanistan, the approaching 10th anniversary of the invasion is less a landmark than a memento mori. Close to 400 British military personnel have died since 2001in a conflict that has failed to produce a political settlement or secure the peace. In recent months, civilian deaths have risen.
Each of the two warmongers bears the scars of battle. Mr Blair, whose weaponry ranged from air strike to Asbos, opened hostilities not only against foreign dictators but also on his own party, on troublesome children and on the disaffected families whom he holds (quite wrongly) to be wholly responsible for the current unrest.
The European Court of Human Rights may need reform but the law, as applied by the UK courts, has consistently upheld the rights of the citizen against an over-mighty state. For Mr Cameron to claim that the causes of the riots included ?twisting and misrepresenting human rights? suggests, absurdly, that the HRA is a charter for arsonists, thugs and trainer-looters. In reality, the ?perversion? of human rights that he bewails is largely a politician?s dislike of judicial power.
Last week, Iain Duncan Smith agreed that the riots might be Mr Cameron?s 9/11 ? the equivalent of the catharsis that transformed Mr Blair from leader to messiah. The results, traced in blood from Baghdad to Kabul, offer a warning of what will happen, albeit in a minor key, if Mr Cameron pursues his war against British citizens on British turf.
As Libya faces an unknown tomorrow.


CUBA
Revolution is not a bed of roses. Revolution is a struggle to the death between the past and the future.
Fidel Castro has been a dictator for over 50 years so why he is still in power?
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