Libya: do something
So, I will leave the gaps to be filled and skip straight to my conclusions (as at 15 March) ...
How long do you wait when Libyan people have asked for one thing from the outside world, one thing only, repeatedly, that Gaddafi be stopped from attacking them with his air power?
And what do you wait for ? A "legal basis" in the form of a UNSC resolution, that is China and Russia consenting to "inteference in another country's internal affairs ? When even France has taken the lead and recognized the interim national government as a legitimate representative of the Libyan people? When the Islamic Conference, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League recognize the need for a no-fly zone? Or, as in Kosovo, do you take action anyway and defy China and Russia to table a resolution, which you have 3 vetos against anyway?
What else do you need before you help those who carry on fighting, knowing that the only alternative is Gaddafi's torture cells?
How much more does it take before you, sitting comfortably in London (or Washington), stop trying to find excuses for inaction ?
Such as, that a no-fly zone would have little effect, since Gaddafi's forces have been able to take some towns by pounding them with artillery alone (almost). Yes, in some places (such as Zawiya), that's true. But on the main front, between Benghazi and Sirte, it's not.
Update (16/3): what the backing of the GCC is worth, given their support for the crackdown in Bahrain, is questionable.
How long do you wait when Libyan people have asked for one thing from the outside world, one thing only, repeatedly, that Gaddafi be stopped from attacking them with his air power?
And what do you wait for ? A "legal basis" in the form of a UNSC resolution, that is China and Russia consenting to "inteference in another country's internal affairs ? When even France has taken the lead and recognized the interim national government as a legitimate representative of the Libyan people? When the Islamic Conference, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League recognize the need for a no-fly zone? Or, as in Kosovo, do you take action anyway and defy China and Russia to table a resolution, which you have 3 vetos against anyway?
What else do you need before you help those who carry on fighting, knowing that the only alternative is Gaddafi's torture cells?
How much more does it take before you, sitting comfortably in London (or Washington), stop trying to find excuses for inaction ?
Such as, that a no-fly zone would have little effect, since Gaddafi's forces have been able to take some towns by pounding them with artillery alone (almost). Yes, in some places (such as Zawiya), that's true. But on the main front, between Benghazi and Sirte, it's not.
Update (16/3): what the backing of the GCC is worth, given their support for the crackdown in Bahrain, is questionable.
posted by DavidP at 19:51
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