VOA常速英语:Libya Report Slams British Ouster of Gadhafi(翻译)

Cheered by huge crowds, then British Prime Minister David Cameron and then French President Nicolas Sarkozystood triumphant in Benghazi’s Liberty Square in September 2011.Their joint campaign of air and missile strikes had swiftly ousted dictator Muhammad Gadhafi.

The Libyan leader had threatened to attack the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

But the report, by the British Parliament’s Foreign Affair Select Committe，concluded that Britain and France had failed to identify that the threat to civilians was overstated.

"The decision-makers here were being presented with a blood-curdling assessment as to what was going to happen in Benghaziand therefore the need to act."The committee said a failure from the Balkans war led to a rushed decision.

"Overhanging that was the history of Srebrenica and the failure of the international community to protect the people of Srebrenica back in 1995, and it was in that climate that decisions were taken.No longer basis of a cool, calm analysis of exactly what the situation was and what the right response would be."

The report says the initial aim of protecting civilians drifted into regime change. "One of the biggest mistakes that France and the UK made during the Libyan intervention was,first of all, to refuse to establish any real dialogue, any possibility of a compromise with the Gadhafi regime.So they changed the rules of engagement from protecting civilians to overthrowing the Gadhafi regime."

The British government was also criticized for failing to understand the nature of the rebellion.

"What happened afterwards was not surprising at all,when you move from a one-man strong regime to a coalition of militias and political parties and municipalitieswith very little cohesion and no leadership. Nobody should be surprised then the country after that collapsed into chaos."

David Cameron has since defended his action,saying the military action was requested by the Arab League and approved by the United Nation Security Council.But the chaos continues.Two rival administrations — one backed by the U.N, based in Tripoli, the other in the eastern city of Tobruk — signed a unity government deal in December, but there’s been little progress in enforcing the agreement.

The lawlessness has allowed Libya to become the main gateway for migrants trying to reach Europe.Over 125,000 people have made the crossing this year alone, more than 3,000 of them have drowned.