U.N. action on Libya appears to be too late
So, last night the United Nations Security Council approved much more than a no-fly zone over Libya — the council’s resolution called for using “all necessary measures” to keep Col. Moammar Gadhafi from killing the Libyans rebelling against his regime. Then, suddenly, this morning Gadhafi announced a cease-fire.
Victory without firing a shot, right?
Not exactly.
It seems pretty obvious that Gadhafi knows his air force and army would not survive an “all necessary measures” effort by NATO; his comments to the contrary are nothing but mother-of-all-battles bluster. And that calculation on his part would have held true at any time during the last few weeks that Gadhafi’s loyalists have been counter-attacking the rebels across the country.
What has changed, however, is the balance of forces within the country. Check out this map (I’ll post it to the blog later if I can overcome some technical difficulties).
That was the situation as of March 7, less than two weeks ago. Since then, Gadhafi’s forces have beaten back the rebels from Zawiya (just outside the capital Tripoli), Ras Lanuf, Brega and Ajdabiya. The situation in Misrata, the country’s third-largest city, also near Tripoli and which the rebels had held, was unclear. But the city has been under heavy attack from Gadhafi’s forces.
In other words, Gadhafi has already accomplished most of what he set out to do when he began attacking the rebels. Had the U.N. action come two weeks ago, the balance of forces might have produced an outcome in which Gadhafi had to step down and the Libyan people had a chance to form a new, more representative government.
There’s always a chance that things eventually turn out for the better. But as of today, it looks like the two to three weeks it took the “international community” to gather up its resolve were a critical loss of time.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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65 comments Add your comment
JF McNamara
March 18th, 2011
3:24 pm
I, for one, am glad we stayed out of it. It was a civil war. Let them settle their own problems. If a civil war broke out here, would we want the UK interfering?
We don’t even know who the opposition is. They may be even worse than Ghadafi. You are assuming that some new Democracy will take hold. You don’t know what is going to happen. We might just be aiding in putting in another Charles Taylor.
What I didn’t want was Americans over there dying for some cause that has absolutely nothing to do with the security or political interest of the United States. Obama has been a good Commander in Chief by doing that. To call him derelict in his duties as some posters have for not going in there to fight is completely ignorant. It would just become another 10 year death trap. No Thanks.
If you want us to go so bad, then grab you NRA protected assault rifle and go be a mercenary.
Ragnar Danneskjöld
March 18th, 2011
4:04 pm
I think we can all celebrate the holocaust in Libya, made possible only by Obama-dither.
@@
March 18th, 2011
4:06 pm
Peter:
I’d be willing to pull out of one (Afghanistan)….watch it from afar. Iraq? No way! We won that one.
JiveTalker-in-Chief
March 18th, 2011
4:24 pm
Our hearts and prayers go out to the people in Japan and Libya, and I am deeply troubled by the prospect of a government shutdown.
BUT HEY! CHECK OUT MY MARCH MADNESS BRACKETS, YO!
old timer
March 18th, 2011
4:42 pm
In the meantime the Human Rihts Council has condemned the US for violations…member counties include..Ltbia, N. Korea, Iran, Venezula, and other “upstanding nations with many human rignts achievements.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: Thee Magnificent!!! mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
March 18th, 2011
5:00 pm
obozo had absolutely no intentions of bombing Libya, or any other terrorist ally of his for that matter, and I hope the rebels understand that before they stick their necks out too far.
A vote amongst sissies is just another way of saying you’re spineless…
markie mark
March 18th, 2011
5:30 pm
Stressing that the United States was acting in concert with European allies and Arab nations, the president said, “Our goal is focused, our cause is just and our coalition is strong”
Wow, just lifted that quote from the article on the front page….sounds like Bush you say?….nope, Barack Obama.
independent thinker
March 18th, 2011
8:50 pm
April Glaspie , Bush 41’s ambassador to Sadaam Hussein in August 1990 before the invasion of Kuwait- “The US does not have a position on Iraq’s dispute with Kuwait” and how many months did Bush 41 dither before we finally attacked? But once we had an overwhelming world approval, Bush 41 finally acted. I would say that compared to Bush 41, Obama and Hilary pulled off a masterful diplomatic accomplishment. Of course Kyle does not wan to talk about the fiasco of Bush 43 lying his way withg the psychopath Cheney into the Iraq fiasco. But then anything this president does will be criticized by the wingnuts on the right, P.S. I did not vote for him.
Screwy Louie
March 18th, 2011
8:54 pm
Our president is little more than a B-list standup comic on the world stage. He should stay out of town or on the golf course full-time as he hasn’t a clue about leading our great nation. The lemmings that elected this rube should be ashamed; apologize; and forfeit your voter registration cards. I expect the full range of hate responses and don’t give a damn because if you are an honest and upright person you know I have spoken the truth. Don’t expect me to get into a pi$$ing contest with you either, because doing so is a waste of my time.
independent thinker
March 19th, 2011
5:47 am
Screwy Louie is a prime example of the people who will vote for any extremist on the right who runs for president as long as they are white and they villify Obama. I beleive the US standing in the Middle East has gone up considerably given that some nations who have dictqtors and limited freedoms are still our allies and Obamhas tried not to just favor any group of rebels who appear ready to take over.This is in comparison to a president who rushed into Iraq based on lies and fabrications from an expatriate criminal who claimed to be the leader of the government in exile after stealing tens of millions from the CIA. All Bush got was a $750 billion dollar unfunded bill for liberating a country that did not attack us and over 4,000 dead Americans and a pair of shoes thrown at Bush, Yeah we need more of that frat boy politics in the Middle East. Oh yeah we also gave Iran a friendly neighbor instead of a crazy madman who hated Iran.
Joel Edge
March 19th, 2011
5:49 am
Yep, too little, too late. Sorry, maybe next time.
Port O'John
March 19th, 2011
8:51 am
Poor Kyle — he just can’t seem to get his facts straight. Being a partisan hack means you only see the world through your hate for Obama. Yesterday you called Obama a failure because he did not get the UN to approve a no-fly zone. Within hours of that insipid post, the UN approved a no-fly zone. Did we hear anything of that from you? Did you amend your post? Nope….
Now Kyle says its too late. Kyle, you’re just a hack typist who wants to work at Fox News. Given your track record (all errors,no runs and no hits) why give any credence to this moronic post?
independent thinker
March 19th, 2011
10:06 am
Any time an American President gets the support of the Arab League for military action against another Arab leader that is a major diplomatic accomplishment. Sorry Kyle you are wrong on this one. I am sure you were one of the ones who thought cowboy diplomacy in Iraq by Bush 43 was a major accomplishment. Problem washe proven to be a liar and had no backing from the locals who were supposed to be our allies.
Can you imagine the US bombing a Latin American Country with no approval of the Organization of American States? (I wonder how many of the right wing crazies even know what that is)
Larry Major
March 19th, 2011
7:20 pm
Do 112 Tomahawk missiles make some of you feel better?
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