Bill Carmichael: With friends like these...

We have seen the truth of this saying this week with developments in Libya.

No sooner had the rebels gained the upper hand in the civil war than governments around the world rushed forward to claim the credit.

Yesterday’s Friends of Libya forum in Paris attracted no fewer than 60 countries – all clamouring to demonstrate their support for the victorious National Transitional Council.

It prompts the question – where were all these “friends” when Nato was desperate for men and materials to carry out bombing raids in support of the rebels over the last six months?

Nowhere to be seen is the simple answer. Russia and China, for example, remained staunch supporters of Muammar Gaddafi and opponents of Nato’s actions until the dictator’s position became hopeless, at which point they promptly changed sides.

Yesterday, both countries were falling over themselves to recognise the new Libyan government. Clearly, some bumper oil and construction projects are at stake and the Russians and Chinese will never let old alliances get in the way of business.

Even America’s passive president, Barack Obama, was content to “lead from behind”, leaving the British and the French to take the prominent roles in Nato’s actions – although that didn’t stop his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton muscling in on the victory photo-shoot.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also turned up in Paris, although in truth the UN was worse than useless. The only role it has in these affairs is to give murderous tyrants, such as Gaddafi, a world stage on which to strut.

I’d like to think that the new Libyan government will remember who their true friends were when they desperately needed support. If so, the bulk of new contracts from the oil-rich nation will be struck with British and French firms – but I wouldn’t bank on it.

Those companies who greased the palms of Gaddafi’s henchmen to gain lucrative deals over recent decades will now be doing exactly the same thing with the new incumbents. And this goes to the heart of the problem. Of course Nato’s intervention can be seen as a success in that it avoided a possible bloodbath as Gaddafi’s tanks moved to crush the rebellion. Certainly, David Cameron and William Hague can take credit for their courage to launch such a risky operation.

But there is no guarantee that the new Libyan government will be any more sympathetic towards the values of freedom and democracy than the last lot. We may have just swapped one lot of anti-Westerners for another.

And I hope that success in Libya will not encourage our government to believe it can act as a world policeman in other conflicts. This would be a big mistake, especially considering this week’s other news – the announcement of big cuts to the British defence budget that will eventually see the Army and RAF cut 7,000 and 5,000 posts respectively.

We can’t make such cuts to our Armed Forces, and ask them to do more at the same time. Perhaps when the next humanitarian crisis happens, we can expect some other countries to carry the burden? Don’t hold your breath.

Paying the price

I’ve just returned from a short holiday in northern Europe more skint than ever at this time of year.

Is it just me or are prices abroad now verging on the ridiculous? I mean £23 for a plate of mussels and chips, and a fiver for a small glass of beer? No wonder the locals look so miserable – especially when you remind them they’ll have to work into their dotage and pay ever-increasing taxes to ensure their euro-friends in Greece, Portugal and Spain can retire early.