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Mirage taking part in air strikes on Libya

It's often said that parliament is at its best during times of national crisis, and during the debate over military action in Libya there were some powerful speeches from the East's MPs.

"We have crossed a threshold," said , the Conservative MP for Harwich and North Essex and former member of the Defence Select Committee.

"Honourable members should have no illusions that there is no such thing as limited war, in all its bloody terror and dirt."

(Con, Milton Keynes North), a member of the Territorial Army who has served in several war zones, declared:

"I have yet to meet a soldier who has been to war who would rush to another one. It is difficult to experience the horrors of war first hand and ever be the same again.

"I am a firm believer that jaw-jaw is better than war-war, but I accept that the time for jaw-jaw sometimes comes to an end and we must act."

But he later said something that many of our MPs agree with:

"One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was never to go into a room without knowing where the exit is. I fear that we have no clear exit at the moment in Libya. That is understandable; anyone who stood up in this House with a clear idea of exactly how we will exit the situation would be at best naive."

The lack of a clear mission and exit strategy is one that has made several MPs nervous. It is one reason why , MP for Basildon and Billericay, voted against the Government - the only Conservative to do so.

"What is the end game?" he later said. "No one really knows, what happens if Gaddafi is still in power at the end of all this? "

"I think our record of intervention has not been good and here we are yet again interfering in a Muslim country. If the Arabs want a no-fly zone, why don't they do it?"

the MP for Clacton decided to abstain in the vote because, he said: "I do not know all the answers at the moment.

"I'm not against military intervention," he said.

"I just want to know what impact it will have on the ground in Libya and are there ways in which we could achieve the same outcome by involving Arab players?

Demonstrators in Libya

"There have been popular uprisings in the two countries next door to Libya. Surely there must be people in Tunisia and Egypt who'd be prepared to overthrow a tyrant in a neighbouring Arab country?"

Back in the Commons there were more powerful speeches.

The Lib Dem MP, , who's always an advocate for the military garrison in his constituency of Colchester, reminded the Foreign Secretary that: "In opposition we constantly raised concerns about the fact that our armed forces were under strength and overstretched. We are now having cuts in the defence budget... we must be careful about what happens in Afghanistan if we get too heavily involved in Libya."

While , whose parents fled Libya, welcomed the no fly zone but the Conservative MP added that it had to go further:

"We must supply weapons to the resistance fighters. We cannot just leave them to Gaddafi's troops, albeit under a no-fly zone. We must also ensure that all kinds of humanitarian aid reaches the citizens of Tripoli and Benghazi and the surrounding areas."

Most MPs believe they are doing the right thing in supporting the UN resolution. But no one is clear about what happens once the no-fly zone is in place and Gaddafi has stopped attacking his people. And that is making some of our MPs nervous.

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