Amidst tough competition it is possible that Channel 4’s Gary Gibbon has written the stupidest thing yet about the Libyan civil war:
I think even demented Guardianistas might be capable of appreciating that the violence is scarcely David Cameron’s fault or responsibility*Wherever this ends, those close to David Cameron will be hoping that he has done enough to avoid the blame if there is more carnage in Libya.
Nevertheless, Gibbon’s post is useful in as much as it demonstrates the limits of the View from Westminster Bridge while simultaneously having it both ways: Cameron is, implicitly, criticised for lacking “influence” with the President of the United States but you can bet that if Britain were leading military action the likes of Gary Gibbon would be raising all manner of questions about the “legality” of intervention and much else besides. It is not, in other words, serious journalism.
This is the problem: if Cameron can persuade the Americans to do something then, in the eyes of our press corps, he will prove himself a “leader” and a “success”. For the lobby, the merits of the case are entirely unimportant, all that matters is that Cameron talk the Americans into doing something. That’s the definition of Prime Ministerial Muscle, you see.
It’s absurd. If the Americans are unpersuaded by the case for attacking Libya (do you think it ends with a No-Fly Zone?) then fine; if they are not so persuaded it will not be because David Cameron has failed to make the argument with sufficient vigour. It will be no comment on Britain or its status in the world if this is how it is played out. Even journalists should be able to recognise that junior partners wholly dependent upon senior partners have a limited ability to persuade senior partners to do something the senior partner isn’t terribly keen on doing. This is not a matter of weakness, but reality.
Nevertheless, watch for headlines of the “Cameron faces humiliation” type should the Americans decline to get involved. Balderdash, of course but it’s something that can be spun into specious nonsense and, as you know, specious nonsense is gold for television and the newspapers alike.
Then again, anything that touches in any way upon the bloody “Special Relationship” can be guaranteed to send half the press corps into meltdown.
*It’s Rupert Murdoch’s. Obviously.
[Via Mr Rentoul.]
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