UN backs action against Colonel Gaddafi

[dakotabob]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12781009

About time they did something I guess.

[Armand Tanzarian]

Al-Jazeera piped in Libyan state TV on one half of the screen, and the Benghazi streets on the other. On one side is utter celebration, the other, stunned silence.

Still, might be too little too late by now. No one can contemplate what Ghadafi will do next, might just go all out regardless of the UNSC decision.

[SCarpelan]

Wow, China and Russia actually allowed the resolution to pass. Very good. There is one slightly worrying thing in the article, though:

The Libyan military has warned that any foreign operations against Libya will expose all maritime and air navigation in the Mediterranean Sea to danger, state TV reports.

"All civilian and military activities will be the target of a Libyan counter-attack. The Mediterranean Sea will be in serious danger not only in the short term but also in the long term," a screen caption said.

I'm pretty sure this one is just empty posturing, though: as long as the ships stay out of coastal artillery range there isn't much Gaddafi can do to them. Any Libyan aircraft that flies too far from their own AA cover would just get shot down.

It'll be interesting to see how the fighting will go now that the Gaddafi supporters are denied their air support.

[CtraK]

Mar 17, 2011 18:20:11 GMT -5 SCarpelan said:

I'm pretty sure this one is just empty posturing, though

Largely empty, but not quite.

Of course, the key thing here is to not fly Pan Am.*


*yes, I know.

[ltfred]

The UN is like people. It takes ages to get people to compromise when there' no overall authority. The slowness of this agreement is not a sign of the uselessness of the UN, it's human nature.

[lighthorseman]

Look, I'm no fan of Gadafti, far from it. But what is happening in Libya is an internal matter in a sovereign country. Its nobody else's business.

And yes, I was a total hawk over Iraq and Afghanistan, wore t-shirts with "if you're right and you know it bomb Iraq" to peace rallies and such. I guess you could say "once bitten twice shy".

I'm telling ya, interfering militarily in other countries' internal stuff, its only going to end in tears.

[georgebullocks]

I don't think a no-fly zone would be much help. Rebel forces are still vastly outclassed by their loyalist opponents in almost every way. Their defeat is a forgone conclusion, and Obama have foolishly burnt bridges with Qaddafi by endorsing rebels and telling him to step down.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

The situation in Libya is way too unstable for any outcome (within reason) to be a foregone conclusion.

[ironbite]

Mar 18, 2011 2:04:56 GMT -5 georgebullocks said:

I don't think a no-fly zone would be much help. Rebel forces are still vastly outclassed by their loyalist opponents in almost every way. Their defeat is a forgone conclusion, and Obama have foolishly burnt bridges with Qaddafi by endorsing rebels and telling him to step down.

Hey George...what bridges did we have with Qaddafi? Answer...we didn't He hates us ands strives towards our destruction. The only reason he didn't team up with Al Qaeda is that he hates them as well.

Ironbite-are you this dumb?

[Mlle Antéchrist]

^^ The US opened diplomatic channels with Gaddafi after his little "I've changed, I swear!" act.

But, yeah, some bridges need to be burned. We're talking about a guy who openly sponsored terrorism back before he put up his temporary facade of penance.

[georgebullocks]

Mar 18, 2011 2:25:51 GMT -5 ironbite said:

Mar 18, 2011 2:04:56 GMT -5 georgebullocks said:

I don't think a no-fly zone would be much help. Rebel forces are still vastly outclassed by their loyalist opponents in almost every way. Their defeat is a forgone conclusion, and Obama have foolishly burnt bridges with Qaddafi by endorsing rebels and telling him to step down.

Hey George...what bridges did we have with Qaddafi? Answer...we didn't He hates us ands strives towards our destruction. The only reason he didn't team up with Al Qaeda is that he hates them as well.

Ironbite-are you this dumb?

Dude

In 2003 Libya began to make policy changes with the open intention of pursuing a Western-Libyan d¨¦tente. The Libyan government announced its decision to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs and pay almost $3 billion dollars in compensation to the families of Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772.[15]

Since 2003 the country has restored normal diplomatic ties with the European Union and the United States and has even coined the catchphrase, 'The Libya Model', an example intended to show the world what can be achieved through negotiation rather than force when there is goodwill on both sides.[16]

On October 31, 2008, Libya paid $1.5 billion, sought through donations from private businesses, to a fund that would be used to compensate both US victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and the 1986 bombing of the La Belle disco in Germany. In addition, Libyan victims of US airstrikes that followed the Berlin attack will also be compensated with $300 million from the fund. US state department spokesman, Sean McCormack called the move a "laudable milestone ... clearing the way for continued and expanding US-Libyan partnership." This final payment under the US-Libya Claims Settlement Agreement was seen as a major step towards improving ties between the two, which had begun easing after Tripoli halted its arms programmes. George Bush also signed an executive order restoring Libya's immunity from terror-related lawsuits and dismissing pending compensation cases.[17]

On November 17, 2008, FCO minister Bill Rammell signed five agreements with Libya. Rammell said: "I will today sign four bilateral agreements with my Libyan counterpart, Abdulatti al-Obidi, which will strengthen our judicial ties, as agreed during Tony Blair's visit to Libya in May last year. In addition, we are signing today a Double Taxation Convention which will bring benefits to British business in Libya and Libyan investors in the UK ¨C benefits in terms of certainty, clarity and transparency and reducing tax compliance burdens. We are also in the final stages of negotiating an agreement to protect and promote investment."

"UK/Libya relations have significantly improved in recent years, following Libya's voluntary renunciation of WMD. Today we are partners in the UN Security Council. We also wish to assist Libya to establish closer relations with the European Union to continue and strengthen the reintegration of Libya within the international community. We therefore support the commencement of negotiations between Libya and the EU on a framework agreement which should cover a range of issues including political, social, economic, commercial and cultural relations between the EU and Libya."[18]

On November 21, 2008, the US Senate confirmed the appointment of Gene Cretz to be the first US ambassador to Libya since 1972.[19]

He called Obama his son and everything. He is also our ally in the war on terror.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

"Ally" in a superficial, self-serving sense...

[ironbite]

Oh wow a guy changed his colors....but really didn't. Oh and paid money to the victims fund that was set up for the terrorist bombings this man ordered. So that makes him our ally in the war on terror? Yeah forgive me if I say no. Smoke and mirrors only in this case.

Ironbite-his own people were still oppressed and he's got a terrible track record on human rights...fuck him hard.

[MaybeNever]

Mar 18, 2011 2:40:29 GMT -5 Mlle Antéchrist said:

"Ally" in a superficial, self-serving sense...

That's virtually all of our allies.

[georgebullocks]

Mar 18, 2011 2:40:29 GMT -5 Mlle Antéchrist said:

"Ally" in a superficial, self-serving sense...

Well, at least he's not financing terrorists or ordering his intelligence services to blow up our planes anymore.