Meeting for a special session in Cairo, the 22 nation Arab League have voted to endorse a no-fly zone in Libya. The two nations that dissented were Syria and Algeria.
This fulfills one of the conditions that American officials and NATO have set forward to advance the possibility of enacting a no-fly zone. The other condition, support from the U.N. Security Council, has yet to be met.
Both China ad Russia have expressed strong derision at the idea of a no-fly zone. Both nations possess veto votes in the U.N. Security Council and it seems unlikely that one, if not both nations, would veto a proposal if put to a vote.
Just because the Arab League has backed the proposal doesn’t mean that he United States should see that as a reason to intervene. It’s unclear how much, if any, military or financial support would come from the Arab nations. This would leave NATO or the U.N. to most of the heavily lifting.
Even if the U.N. or NATO commit multilaterally to the engagement, it would almost certainly ask for a large contingent of American troops to help in the operation.
It’s worth pointing out that even if a no-fly zone was enacted, it would do little to prevent Muammar Gaddafi and his forces from attacking the rebels. Gaddafi still would have full use of the artillery, tanks, armored personal carriers and small arms that have represented the majority of the means he has used to attack the rebels.
Both Britain and France have been vocal in their support for a no-fly zone, and both nations have the capability of carrying out the mission. While it is good that the Arab League might support a potential action, ultimately the U.S. is responsible for it’s own actions.
Conducting a no-fly zone is an act of war that involves putting American troops at risk and repeated ground strikes against anti-air defenses that could result in civilian casualties. If the U.S. is to go to war, it should be because we need to, not because a group of other nations have given America the proverbial thumbs up to attack their neighbor.
