Britain may have to send troops into Libya if Colonel Gaddafi is ousted or killed, Whitehall insiders fear.
Planning for the aftermath of the conflict is a “bloody mess” and David Cameron may have no option but to deploy our soldiers to prevent full civil war, a senior source said.
That would risk sparking an insurgency and angering Arab states, which have largely supported action against the ruthless dictator.
The top source said: “I always find myself getting to my knees and praying to God that we don’t bomb Gaddafi that night because what the f*** would we do next?”
Mr Cameron and fellow ministers have repeatedly ruled out sending in ground troops.
But the United Nations has told ministers it will take three months to get up and running in Libya once Gaddafi is gone.
The Government says forces from Arab states could fill the gap but different countries are backing different rebel factions.
And there is “no sign” the rebels are willing to work with bureaucrats serving under Gaddafi, whom the allied forces want to keep in place.
The senior Whitehall source believes Mr Cameron may end up with no choice but to send in ground troops for a limited period.
He said: “We may simply have to, whatever the international reaction. But we would have to make it absolutely clear there was a strict timetable, say six weeks.”
The source added: “If we said clearly that the objective was to prevent a bloodbath, people will ask: ‘Why are you packing up and going home now?’”
The warning comes after coalition ministers admitted only a handful of UK officials were working full time on preparations for a post-Gaddafi Libya.
The Department for International Development has 12 staff full-time on the plans but neither the Foreign Office nor MoD has anyone devoted to the task.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox yesterday claimed nobody in the Government had said the campaign against Gaddafi would be “short and sharp”. But last week he admitted the cost had topped £250million, despite Chancellor George Osborne predicting only “tens of millions” at the outset.
