| And how might the Arab League assist the UNSC do such a thing? Will members of the Arab League [door number 1] volunteer air bases, support personnel, fuel and money? Or [door number 2] ask for the UNSC to implement the no-fly zone knowing up-front that Russia and China will veto, thus absolving them of any responsibility for what's happening to their Arab 'brothers'? |
They also appeared to confer legitimacy on the rebel's interim government, the National Libyan Council, saying they would establish contacts with the umbrella group and calling on nations to provide it with "urgent help."
"The Arab League asks the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society to shoulder its responsibility ... to impose a no-fly zone over the movement of Libyan military planes and to create safe zones in the places vulnerable to
League Secretary-General
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa... who has been head of the Arab League since about the time Jerry and Dean split up ...
stressed in remarks afterward that a no-fly zone was intended as a humanitarian measure to protect Libyan civilians and foreigners in the country and not as a military intervention.
That stance appeared meant to win over the deeply Arab nationalist government of Syria, which has smarted against foreign intervention into Arab affairs.
The Arab League cannot impose a no-fly zone itself. But the approval of the key regional Arab body gives the US and other Western powers crucial regional backing they say they need before doing so. Many were weary that Western powers would be seen as intervening in the affairs of an Arab country if they began a no-fly zone without Arab approval.
Still, the B.O. regime has said a no-fly zone may have limited impact, and the international community is divided over the issue.
Backing the rebel's politicianship, the League statement said it had faced "grievous violations and serious crimes by the Libyan authorities, which have lost their illusory sovereignty." The League's decision comes hours before the European Union's policy chief is set to arrive in Cairo to meet with the Arab bloc's leaders to discuss the situation in Libya.
Catherine Ashton said she hoped to discuss a "collaborative approach" with Arab League chief Moussa on Libya and the rest of the region. Ashton said it was necessary to evaluate how effective economic sanctions imposed on Qadaffy's regime had been so far and that she was "keeping all options moving forward" regarding any additional measures.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle welcomed the EU's "very cautious" stance on possible military intervention.
"We do not want to be drawn into a war in north Africa -- we should have learned from the events in and surrounding Iraq," Westerwelle said. "It is very important that the impression doesn't arise that this is a conflict of the West against the Arab world or a Christian crusade against people of Mohammedan faith."
"The Arab League has officially requested the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone against any military action against the Libyan people," Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told a news conference after a meeting of the group.
Moussa said the League also decided to open contacts and cooperate with the Libyan rebel council based in Benghazi, which has risen up against the country's leader, Muammar Qadaffy.
Communications with the Libyan National Council would include contacts on humanitarian assistance, he said.
The League's decision follows a statement by the European Union that it would consider military action in Libya only if it were supported by the United Nations and the vaporous Arab League.
During Friday's talks in Brussels, La Belle France and Britain pushed to maintain the military option because of continued fighting in Libya and the threat of more violence by the forces of Qadaffy, who has used at least some European-made weapons to attack his own people.
To coordinate action with the regional forces, the EU will meet in a summit "soon" with the Arab League and the African Union. With their backing, and that of the UN Security Council, the EU leaders said they want to go as far as needed to remove Qadaffy from power.
"Out objective is the safety of the people, and the safety of the people has to be ensured by all necessary means," EU President Herman van Rompuy has said.
The Arab League's stand is seen to buoy morale among Libya's rebels, who have been forced into the defensive as Qadaffy's forces mounted a counterattack in several fronts in the past days.
On Friday, Qadaffy's troops forced rebels to retreat overnight from the outskirts of the oil town of Ras Lanouf, pushing the front line eastward. The front line now stands between the rebel-held town of Uqaylah and Ras Lanouf, where oil storage tanks were hit during Friday's fighting. Rebels blamed an air strike but the government denied hitting the oil plant.
Rebels, however, said there were more fighters standing by.
"The volunteers now at the front are less than 30 percent of the people who are willing to go and fight, our people are ready and determined to fight Qadaffy's forces," Libyan National Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil told Rooters in an interview.
It was clear the rebels had retreated from Ras Lanouf, but with a rapidly-moving battlefield, just how far was uncertain.
"We're out of Ras Lanouf. They've beaten us back with bombardment," rebel Col. Bashir Abdul Qadr told Rooters. "We've moved back 20 km (12 miles) from last night because we are also afraid the refinery will explode."
"Yesterday evening there was heavy bombing from Libyan war planes. This bombardment made us take positions back from Ras Lanouf, but not 20 km as we heard, we are 3 km (away), rebel Col. Hamed Al-Hasi told Arabiya news network, adding: "I advise journalists not to enter the field of operations because we cannot guarantee their safety."
There were three air strikes close to a checkpoint near the town of Uqaylah, 40 km (25 miles) from Ras Lanouf unsettling the rebels who moved off the road and into the desert.
The colonel told Rooters that, according to engineers, the refinery at Ras Lanouf will blow up in the next five days due to the damage sustained in the operation to retake the town with a fierce land, sea and air assault.
This could not be independently corroborated.
Rebels, armed mainly with anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers and light weapons, fought back to hold Ras Lanouf, about 590 km (370 miles) east of Tripoli, but were overwhelmed by Qadaffy's firepower.
"The city is a ghost town. The presence of civilians there is very difficult because of the intensity of the bombardment. Qadaffy's forces are still present in Ras Lanouf ... Under the aerial cover, they seized the opportunity yesterday," said Al-Hasi, adding: "The battles are far from the oil areas, the battles are on the outskirts of Ras Lanouf."
The next big oil town of Brega was alive with rumour that Qadaffy forces would be advancing shortly, mounting another overwhelming show of military force. On the outskirts, rebels made preparations in armed vehicles to defend the town.
"This will be their next target. They will be coming here next," said Rafah Farsi, 31, an oil worker and one of the few residents to remain in Brega.
"It saddens me seeing people fleeing their own homes for safety," a tearful Farsi told Rooters. "Ras Lanouf was a residential area and now it's destroyed, why?"
There was growing support for the scenario that Qadaffy's push east could leave him fighting a prolonged guerrilla war.
"We don't care how long it takes, five years or 10 years. The gate has been opened," said Bashir Warshfani, 30, a rebel in military fatigues and wearing a keffiyeh.
"If I die, my brother takes my place, if he dies, my neighbor. Qadaffy will only get this country when he kills us all," said Warshfani, lifting his shirt to show the entry and exit wound of a bullet that was freshly bandaged.
Some 4x4 vehicles with heavy weapons moved back toward Ras Lanouf from the front line in this barren landscape dotted with oil terminals that divides the west with Tripoli as its capital from the rebel-held east and Libya's second city of Benghazi.
The colonel was keen to boost the morale of a group of about 40 troops, saying: "Anyone who is willing to fight and become a martyr, come and fight!" To which the fighters replied: "Allahu Akbar! (God is greatest!)"