first good news from Libya for awhile

“Rebels appear to slow government forces’ advance in Libya”

Good.

The Arab League voted to support a no-fly zone, and the rebels seem to want it. So, should there be one?

I suppose that depends on what is of paramount importance for you here. Is “the West should not be involved in any way, because that’s imperialism” the #1 priority on your list here? I suppose it’s #3 or #4 for me: not negligible by any means, but nowhere near #1.

#1 on my list is: “the rebel stronghold at Benghazi must be protected at all costs.” If Qaddafi reaches and crushes Benghazi, not only will it be a horrific scene, but then we will all be left sitting here not only watching Qaddafi continue to rule a country, we will also be left to watch our governments cut petro-deals with him after a face-saving amount of time has passed, or even before. And that would be sickening. How could we live with ourselves if we were to let the opposition in Benghazi be pulverized?

#2 on my list is probably: “Qaddafi must be thrown out.” I do very much want to see him thrown out, but not “at all costs.” Namely, I don’t think there should ever be any invasion by Western ground forces. Cheer on the opposition, and perhaps even arm them and protect them from the air, but that’s the limit of what I’d be willing to support right now. Also, I suppose we can live with Qaddafi for awhile as long as there’s a solid opposition chunk of Libya still in existence.

We also can’t pretend neutrality here. A no-fly zone means committing to pushing Qaddafi out eventually (sooner rather than later, one hopes), and living with the inconvenience to petro-supplies that this will entail.

In short, I suppose we can live with Qaddafi still in Tripoli for awhile, if the costs of doing otherwise seem too high. But I think any cost short of Western ground intervention is worth paying to protect Benghazi. I don’t want to spend a brutal week watching that city retaken by the government.

The Arab League support of a no-fly zone is politically very big.