Obama critical of UK efforts in Libya; says Cameron was 'distracted'

The so-called "special relationship" between the UK and US came under scrutiny on Friday after American President Barack Obama criticised Britain's involvement in Libya, saying it failed to stop the North African state descending into "a mess".

Stung by the accusation, Britain is reported to have complained directly to Washington over the forthright remarks made in an interview with The Atlantic magazine. The White House then issued a statement saying the US "deeply values" UK Prime Minister David Cameron's efforts on the world stage.

He was also scathing of France's involvement, saying then President Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to "trumpet" French airstrikes in the region "despite the fact that we had wiped out all the air defenses and essentially set up the entire infrastructure” for the intervention.

“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,” Obama said. He claimed British Prime Minister David Cameron soon stopped paying attention, becoming “distracted by a range of other things”.

“We got a UN mandate, we built a coalition, it cost us $1bn - which, when it comes to military operations, is very cheap. We averted large-scale civilian casualties, we prevented what almost surely would have been a prolonged and bloody civil conflict. And despite all that, Libya is a mess.”

The comments have struck a major nerve in London, where the "special relationship" has taken on an almost mythical status which seems to have far more resonance on the British side of the pond than it does in Washington, where it is more tolerated than celebrated.

Critics of Obama's remarks in Britain pointed out US failures in the region, notably the withdrawal from Iraq and no progress in the Middle East.