Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Editorial

The time has come to put a stop to the crimes against humanity being perpetrated by Moammar Gadhafi on the people of Libya.
With Gadhafi holding nothing back in his assault on the citizens he has misruled for more than 40 years, every passing day will only result in more Libyans dead at the hands of their nominal leader.

U.S. President Barack Obama said more than 10 days ago that Gadhafi must leave. That was a good start, but now this rhetoric must be backed up with action. In Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has earned headlines with his recognition of the Libyan National Council as the legitimate government of Libya and announcement of financial aid for the rebels, but where are the concomitant moves of recognition and assistance from his fellow European leaders? Only France and the U.K. have been pushing for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a no-fly zone.

So far the world has only witnessed largely empty talk from the mightiest nations; their failure to enact any measures with teeth makes it appear to many that these powers have adopted a wait-and-see approach. For every day that they wait, however, all they will see are more dead Libyans – those who sought only the freedom and democracy enjoyed by the West, as well as scores of civilian bystanders.

The debate over whether to create a no-fly zone over Libya has trudged on since last month, but the inertia of the U.S. and Europe is also only further tearing down their reputations. By tolerating Gadhafi’s massacre of his own people, they are giving the impression that their mouthfuls of freedom, human rights and democracy are nothing but a sham; instead, many observers are concluding that the West’s utmost concerns are oil, oil and oil. In fact, some in the U.S. have argued against the no-fly zone based on the reality that Libya does not actually sell that much oil to the U.S.

As for the Arabs, the Arab League and the GCC have called for a no-fly zone in Libya and the ouster of Gadhafi. In essence, this is what the U.S. and Europe sought from Arab leaders before taking any unilateral action against Gadhafi. But now that this has been secured what’s the excuse for further procrastination?

To be sure, there are many difficulties with implementing a no-fly zone: Gadhafi could still quash the rebels despite the move, Western aid could undermine the rebels’ legitimacy and Libya after Gadhafi could well turn into an utter catastrophe. However, not acting immediately to enact a no-fly zone would only amount to making Western leaders accomplices in Gadhafi’s crimes against the Libyan people.