I’ll be honest, upon hearing that the United States was talking about a “no-fly zone” in Libya, I was a little bit confused. After all, what incentive can it give to Gaddafi to simply not fly? You can’t very well build a wall that high, right? What I was getting wrong was that I assumed it did not include violence or force to limit the flying. It does.
After many, many debates, the United States did a quick turnaround and decided to back a no-fly zone, something both Senators John Kerry and John McCain have been supporting more or less from the beginning, resulting in a 10-0 vote in the United Nations Security Council to both establish said zone and to demand a cease fire.
Photo Courtesy of Amit Chattopadhyay
The United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York City
More recently, President Barack Obama threatened to use military aggression against Gaddafi, joining with France and Britain (the Allies are back in action, apparently). What I thought was interesting, and probably a flagrant breach of objectivity, was that in this article, which was the first news article I read about this, the reporters (Elisabeth Bumiller and David D. Kirkpatrick of The New York Times) mentioned that unlike Bush, Obama was broaching the issue as a supportive outside party, rather than an aggressive foe attempting to break into the country’s system. Of course, as always, the United States’ reputation is just one of many aspects that will be fascinating to follow as the conflict continues.
Photo Courtesy of White House (Pete Souza) / Maison Blanche (Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. They, along with British Prime Minister David Cameron, are threatening military action against Libya.
The United States’ terms for withholding aggression are contingent on Gaddafi imposing a cease-fire, withdrawing his forces from where the rebels are, and stopping attacks on civilians. Incidentally, Gaddafi declared a cease-fire. Does this mean it will all be daisies and butterflies again? Not quite. French jets just fired on a target in Libya as the pro-government forces besieged the city; the cease-fire was, as expected, was a farce. Gaddafi, on his part, alleged to Obama that his people will die for him, and that he is ready to die; somehow, this does not seem to ring true, as citizens are reportedly fleeing the western side of the city, which is being shelled.
CNN is officially referring to this as a civil war. Gaddafi flagrantly lied about a cease fire. The new allies are ready to use military power. It looks like Gaddafi is going to have to try a little harder if he thinks he can pull one over on the world; they’re watching.
I’d also like to give a nod to Egypt, where the eligible citizens are voting in a referendum to approve amendments to the Constitution. Voted on as a package deal and including such provisions as term limits for the president and judicial oversight of elections, they are causing quite a stir. Some are saying that these are the perfect way to begin to institute democracy, while others are noting that this is too quick a fix, favoring those that already have some sort of background in power (such as the National Democratic Party and The Muslim Brotherhood) and not giving enough time to those who organized the protests to develop the type of party and government they want.
Photo Courtesy of monasosh
A line of Egyptians waiting to vote on the referendum
Of the Facebook activity I have seen among the Egyptian youth, it seems that the consensus is a resounding “No.” They’ve come this far, here’s for hoping they’ll make it all the way.
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