British Prime Minister David Cameron was instrumental in securing UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to establish a "no-fly zone" and to authorize military intervention by member nations to protect Libya's civilian population at a time when Gadhafi's army was advancing on the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi.

Since the resolution was passed March 17, Western aircraft — predominantly American, British and French — have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya, and American and British warships and submarines have fired more than 160 Tomahawk cruise missiles at military targets in the country.

Moth's comments reflect mounting concerns among the British public of "mission creep" in the conflict, whereby their armed forces are drawn into an increasingly widening commitment without either clear objectives or exit strategy.

Although only 13 British members of Parliament opposed the air strikes in a vote March 21, recent opinion polls have revealed public support to be shaky. A March 22 ComRes poll for ITV News found that 53 per cent of people thought it was unacceptable for British forces to be put in danger by protecting Libyan rebels and civilians, with just 35 per cent saying the government was right to commence military operations in the country. YouGov survey results published March 22 in The Sun newspaper found that 45 per cent of people interviewed were in favour of military action, while 36 per cent opposed it.

{iarelatednews articleid="5255,5257,5249,5176,5150,5142"}