Letter: The old conceit

The ill-conceived attempt by the Foreign Office to covertly provide aid to the Libyan rebels only serves to confirm that UK governments still adhere to the conceit which has existed since the end of the Ottoman empire through the Suez fiasco and carried on until the present.

The "recent" support, aid and protection supplied to Middle East despotic regimes by Conservative, Old Labour, New Labour and now this Con Dem coalition government should now convince the naive that the "investment" of billions of pounds and, more importantly, the lives of our military personnel, shows no sign of reaping the harvest of cheap oil that has been the main aim behind the continual presence of UK and US personnel in the region.

References to humanitarian aid and supporting changes to create democracy are now as believable as the statements trotted out regarding the MPs and bankers' new restraint in their expenses and bonuses respectively.

If the UK government is determined to impose the same standard of democracy and system of government that we enjoy on the poor people of the Middle East and other regions then they may be in bigger trouble than at present.

Archie Finlayson

Montgomery Road

Kinross