Arab leaders are concerned about criticism for green-lighting Western military action in Libya, should it backfire.
Arab League Walks a Tightrope With Libya Intervention
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Libya
Endgame for Gaddafi?
In its threat to use force against the Libyan government, the international community put Muammar Gaddafi into what chess aficionados calls zugzwang. This clever gambit traps the opponent so that any move worsens his or her position. Thus, if Gaddafi continued to battle the opposition in Benghazi, several air forces were at the ready to bombard his army. And if the Libyan leader pursued a ceasefire and political negotiations, he risked a further outbreak of protests in Tripoli from an emboldened population. Along either path lay probable checkmate.
Is There a Cause and Effect Between Fukushima and Attacking Libya?
As Japan’s nuclear crisis deepened, Gaddafi revealed that he would cancel oil contracts with Europe and sign up instead the BRIC countries.
Libya: Where Are the BRICs?
Following the vote at the UN Security Council, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States have embarked on military action against Gaddafi’s forces in Libya. They have been careful to include a few Arab states in this new coalition of the willing. But these three countries are the driving force behind the imposition of a no-fly zone and the attacks on the government’s military positions and forces. Yet among the permanent and non-permanent member of the Council who were asked to authorize “all necessary measures” to protect civilians rebelling against the regime, the BRIC powers of Brazil, Russia, India, and China were conspicuously absent.
Will Libya Become a Second Iraq?
However different the two, Libya could still end up like Iraq today: a nation deeply divided not by sect and language but by geography and tribe.
Libya Needs Cancer of Gaddafi Removed, But U.S. More Slasher Than Surgeon
Unless the world is prepared to stand by and watch Libyans massacred, there is clearly a need for intervention.
Humanitarian Intervention in Libya?
Unlike the despots in Egypt and Tunisia, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is resisting the popular revolutions sweeping the Arab world. As of this writing, the pro-democracy rebels successfully control Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, and most of the eastern part of the country. Gaddafi still controls most of the military, revolutionary committees, and foreign mercenaries. More importantly, Gaddafi controls the capital city of Tripoli with a population of 2.5 million out of a total population of 6.5 million. Gaddafi is attacking the rebels, taking back Zawiya, Ras Lanof, and pushing forward east to take more rebel areas.
Calls for Libya No-Fly Zone an Excuse to Put American Stamp on Arab Revolution?
A no-fly zone would be of little help halting the largely ground-based attacks on Libyan rebels and civilians.
Not Only al Qaeda But West on Outside Looking in at Libyan Opposition
Al Qaeda has tasked one of its most capable leaders with making inroads into Libya.
Gaddafi’s Ace In The Hole? Algeria (Part 2)
Algeria’s leaders fear that if Gaddafi falls, their hold on power will be that much more fragile.