Barack Obama blasts David Cameron for leaving Libya a 'sshow'1

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• published: 11 Mar 2016
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Barack Obama blasted David Cameron for 'free riding' over defence and has privately accused the British Prime Minister of leaving Libya a 's*** show', it emerged today. In a remarkable insight into the US President's critical view of Mr Cameron's foreign policy, it was revealed today that Mr Obama believed Britain and France were too happy to rely on the US to deal with conflicts on Europe's doorstep. And he warned Mr Cameron last summer that the 'special relationship' between Britain and America would be lost if he refused to commit the UK to spending the Nato target of 2 per cent of GDP on defence. In an in-depth interview with The Atlantic magazine, Mr Obama said he wanted Mr Cameron and the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy to take charge of the campaign to oust Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi in the spring of 2011 instead of relying on the US acting 'unilaterally'. He wanted the two countries to break their habit of 'pushing us to act but then showing an unwillingness to put any skin in the game'. He even went as far as describing the likes of Britain and France as 'free riders,' adding later that he had told Mr Cameron that 'free riders aggravate me' when he had told the PM: 'You have to pay your fair share'. In a damning assessment of Mr Cameron's record in Libya, Mr Obama said bluntly that the intervention 'didn't work' and had left the country a 's*** show'. In a wide-ranging interview it was revealed: Mr Obama warned Mr Cameron the 'special relationship would be destroyed if Britain did not meet the Nato target of spending at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence He told the PM that 'free riders aggravate me' as he told him to 'pay your fair share' Mr Obama cited Britain as a 'major factor' in his decision no to enforce the 'red line' on the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime The President said Mr Cameron became 'distracted' after Britain's initial intervention in Libya in the spring of 2011 The US policy of leaving Libya to the UK and France 'didn't work' Mr Obama thought the situation in Libya 'broke down very quickly' and the British and French left the country a 's*** show' Mr Obama said he had more faith in the Europeans but admitted it had been a mistake to trust Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy. 'When I go back and I ask myself what went wrong, there's room for criticism, because I had more faith in the Europeans, given Libya's proximity, being invested in the follow-up,' Mr Obama said. He revealed his irritation as he said Mr Cameron became 'distracted by a range of other things' in the aftermath of the Libya campaign, while the French president was ousted a year. Explaining why he wanted Europe to play the lead in Libya, Mr Obama said: 'Sometimes we're going to get what we want precisely because we are sharing in the agenda. 'The irony is that it was precisely in order to prevent the Europeans and the Arab states from holding our coats while we did all the fighting that we, by design, insisted.' He added: 'It was part of the anti–free rider campaign.' In the interview, Mr Obama also cited Britain as a 'major factor' in his decision not to enforce the 'red line' on the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. The President called off at the last minute a planned attack in response to the gassing as he decided to refer the issue to a vote in Congress. Mr Obama said: 'We had UN inspectors on the ground who were completing their work, and we could not risk taking a shot while they were there. 'A second major factor was the failure of Cameron to obtain the consent of his parliament.' The US President also revealed he addressed defence spending with the Prime Minister at last June's G7 summit. Just weeks later, Chancellor George Osborne delivered his summer Budget which included increased defence spending. Mr Cameron had been criticised by his own backbenchers over the threat Britain would fall behind the Nato target of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence. But in a stark warning from the US President, he said 'free riders aggravate me' in the talks with Mr Cameron, and told him: 'You have to pay your fair share.' Speaking shortly after Mr Osborne's announcement, Mr Cameron said: 'It's about making sure we are safe in a very dangerous and unstable world. 'Because we've got a strong economy we can now make the commitment to spending more - over and above inflation - on defence, as much potentially as £6billion more between now and 2020, and that will make sure Britain is safer.' Highlighting the threat from Islamic extremism on a visit to an RAF base, he said: 'And I'm absolutely determined that the RAF, Army and Navy will have the equipment, the means and the resources to deal with it. 'One of the things that we need is making sure that we have the drones, spy planes and special forces - the unique capabilities that make sure we can deal with this threat at its source.'