a complete waste of time continues

1922: The BBC’s Chris Morris in Brussels reports: “EU diplomats say its unlikely that EU sanctions against Libya will be in force until the second half of next week. The provisional agreement to impose sanctions has to be approved by ministers from member states. Then a legal regulation has to be produced by the European Commission – specifying details of sanctions, names of those affected etc – and again approved unanimously by all member states.”

Sanctions? In the second half of next week?

Again, I’m not sure any Western nations ought to intervene in this too much, possibly taking away a bit of its legitimacy. But if anything is to be done, I don’t see that sanctions 5 days from now is going to do much good, and all these diplomats seem to be wasting a lot of time talking about it and resolving upon it.

What might be worthwhile? We’ve already heard the suggestions.

*no-fly zone, though I’ve heard no reports of airstrikes today, and with the fighting now centered in Tripoli that would seem difficult

*arm the protestors, but I’ve heard no such demands, and any heavy weaponry given to the protestors could put blood on our hands if there is a tribal civil war post-Qaddafi (though I’m starting to doubt it)