In response to the situation in Libya, Western Leaders, the Arab League and the United Nations have condemned the actions of Gadaffi against his own people. U.S. President Obama condemned that action yesterday and said that all options were on the table and that Hillary Clinton would attend a Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva this weekend. Critics claim that the Administration response was both slow and lame, but what, in reality, are the options?
Those familiar with the region realize that the West's influence in Libya is limited. The oilfields have made Libya economically independent and the U.S., in particular, has very little influence. Most of the oil in Libya has been going to Europe due to the proximity of European markets. As a result the condemnation of Western leaders has largely been ineffective and the massacre inside Libya continues.
Options
Sanctions and Arms Embargo - Could sanctions and an arms embargo be effective or would it only hurt the very people the West is attempting to protect? In most cases, when sanctions were implemented against rogue nations it has only affected the people. A good example is Saddam Hussein's Iraq. While the EU (Germany and France in the lead) want to implement sanctions, Berlusconni's Italy has rejected them. Italy gets 25% of its oil from Libya. The EU can still implement sanctions without Italy's support.
No Fly Zone - The Libyan Ambassador to the UN has called for drastic measures, that would call for an immediate implementation of a no fly zone on Lybia. The theory being that this would keep Libya's Air Force on the ground and thus prevent slaughter from the air. How effective would that really be? Gadaffi's slugs are still roaming the streets in Tripoli and indiscriminately killing their own people. Again the no fly zone was implemented against Iraq and British and U.S. aircraft that were patrolling the the zone were constantly fired at. Will a no fly zone really prevent the killing?
A military option - This would obviously be a last resort. Security conditions at the Tripoli airport are such that foreigners can no longer be evacuated this morning. Canada had to delay a flight going into Tripoli today, where at least another 126 Canadians are waiting to get out of the belaguered nation.
A military option would be risky business. While the people of Libya want to be rid of Gadaffi, landing of foreign troops could be seen at an attempt of occupation of Libya and could face fierce resistance.
An operation of this type would have to start with the seizure of Libyan airfields and then buidling the force with follow on forces. Naturally this would require a lot of co-ordination for a multi-national force and that requires time. While many claim that the West should have seen this coming, it is obvious that the Western governments were ill prepared for such an event.
Summary
The options for intervention in Libya are limited and at best ineffective. Western governments are still grabbling with getting its citizens out of Libya. The situation is changing by the minute in Libya. Getting to the airport is virtually impossible and it doesn't appear that flights will be leaving anytime soon. Even a boat that was to take U.S. passengers to Malta has been stuck in the harbour. Military planes have now been send into Tripoli and according to reports a British C 130 Hercules left this morning with 52 British nationals and 13 foreigners. The British have now also confirmed that the Special Air Services (SAS), British Special Forces have been placed on stand by.
The situation is grave, what will our glorious leaders do about it? Is this another Rwanda with a lot of talk and very little action?
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