What We’re Watching: Perspectives on Libya

Mar 21st, 2011 1:58 PM UTC
By Lorraine Chu

Over the weekend, the Libyan government’s cease-fire declaration was broken as forces on the side of leader Muammar Gaddafi bombarded various Libyan cities, including Tripoli, Benghazi and Misurata. American and British military took action, firing more than 110 Tomahawk missiles at about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets, according to the Pentagon.

President Obama stated that the US is “proud that we are acting as part of a coalition,” and that the coalition was “answering the calls of a threatened people,” according to Al Jazeera’s live blog on Libya. BBC News states that the countries attacking Libya under a UN mandate stand by their statement that Gaddafi is not a direct target.

Despite that the Libyan government recently called for an “immediate” cease-fire after the UN Security Council authorized the use of force to protect the people, conflict still continues to rage as the declaration was immediately violated, reported CNN.

In response to Gaddafi’s attack on the rebels of Benghazi, France also made its first strike against Libyan forces by firing at a military vehicle. French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke after the Paris summit on Libya, and has been quoted in PBS saying, “Our air force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gaddafi against the population of Benghazi.”

Gaddafi has responded to anti-authoritarian protests with violence. Several world leaders have urged Gaddafi to step down, and the UN Security Council authorized a no-fly zone over Libya, as well as air strikes in an effort to protect the Libyan people.

Here are three pieces of analysis from today regarding the situation in Libya:

Business Week published an article saying that NATO involvement in Libya must be clearly defined:

“NATO is not responsible for distributing natural resources and a NATO operation cannot turn into an occupation, [Turkish Prime Minister Recep] Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech today in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. NATO involvement would have to be limited to “providing Libyans with the opportunity to make their own decisions” about their future, he said. Erdogan said on March 1 that NATO intervention in Libya would be ‘unthinkable.’”

An opinion piece published in The Washington Times discusses a strategy for Libya, as well as how UN members should proceed:

“The allies cannot back down. At the very least, the four cities [Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Misratah and Zawiyah] must go to the rebels. Hopefully, a combination of air strikes and a renewed rebel offensive will do the job, but if the rebels fall back, the French and the British must be prepared to commit ground troops. President Obama ruled out this option but not the British and not the French; and correctly so. The Security Council Resolution prohibits an occupation force, but an invasion force is a different matter.”

A video and report by CNN raises three important issues regarding the safety of the civilians in Benghazi and measures that should be taken by UN forces:

“One of the basic rules of intervention is to get it over with quickly. From the military standpoint, this has been done. But how these initial military actions will relate to the stated — and unstated — goals of the operation remains the major challenge for the coalition.”

Keep checking our blog as we will continue to post updates on the situation in Libya.

TAGS: Libya