U.N. Clears Way for Attack on Libya
U.S., Europe Ready to Launch Air Strikes Against Gadhafi Forces; Rebels' Worsening Plight Jolts White House to Act
JAY SOLOMON ADAM ENTOUS JOE LAURIA
The United Nations Security Council authorized military force Thursday against Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi's security forces, opening the way for European and U.S. airstrikes within days.
The United Nations Security Council authorized military strikes on Libya Thursday evening, and U.S. and European officials said air attacks against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's forces were possible "within hours." WSJ's John Bussey and Kelsey Hubbard discuss.
The U.N. action, pushed aggressively by France and the U.K., came as Col. Gadhafi's security forces continued their assault toward Benghazi, the de-facto capital of rebels trying to end his 42-year rule.
European and American officials argued on the Security Council floor that an international campaign to stop Col. Gadhafi's forces was required immediately to stave off a potential massacre of opposition forces and civilians.
Col. Gadhafi's forces celebrate at the gates of Ajdabiya, as government jets hit the city Wednesday.
Libyan men look at a reconnaissance plane circling above the eastern town of Ajdabiya on March 15.
French officials have indicated that military strikes could take place within hours of the resolution's passage. Others were more cautious about how quickly any attacks would begin.
In Benghazi, the rebel administration unleashed fireworks over the harbor seconds after the U.N. vote, and in the eastern port city of Tobruq, tracer bullet volleys lit up the sky as boats in the harbor blew their horns.
Col. Gadhafi, shortly before the vote, said his troops would launch an all-out assault in the coming hours against rebels and members of the opposition in Benghazi even if the whole world opposed him.
Ten members of the Security Council voted for the imposition of a no-fly zone in Libya and other security measures, with no members opposing the resolution. Russia, China, Germany, India and Brazil abstained.
The resolution authorized other nations to board ships and planes to enforce an existing arms embargo on Libya, and approved "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians from Col. Gadhafi's security forces.
U.N. members, aware of the sensitivity such a military campaign could have in a Muslim country, stressed that there would be no foreign military occupation of Libya—an outcome that is barred by the resolution.
"Our resolution is aimed to protect Libyan civilians," said Lebanon's ambassador to the U.N., Nawaf Salam, a central player in the drafting of the resolution. "It will not result in the occupation of even an inch of Libyan territory."
The assertive U.S. posture marked a turnaround from the early days of the month-old Libyan crisis, when President Barack Obama's administration, and particularly his defense advisers, seemed reluctant to embrace military action.
Read the Security Council Resolution
![[docid=110317224753-135a00c74a344641b895d2c16175eb26|file=unsclibyaresolutionfinal]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-NC291_unliby_D_20110317184130.jpg)
The president appeared to be facing two unpleasant possibilities: adding a third military commitment to the wars already under way in Afghanistan and Iraq, or watching Col. Gadhafi defeat—perhaps brutally—a rebellion sparked by regional pro-democracy uprisings.
U.S. officials said military action was preferable out of fear that, should Col. Gadhafi remain in power, he would slaughter those who had turned against him and perhaps return to supporting international terrorism.
"If Gadhafi stays, he will do terrible things to Libya and her neighbors," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit Thursday to Tunisia, Libya's neighbor to the west. "It's in his nature—there are some creatures who are like that."
European and U.S. officials said military operations could begin quickly, as fear increased that Col. Gadhafi could move aggressively to retake Benghazi.
After the U.N. vote, President Obama spoke by telephone to British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The White House said the leaders agreed to coordinate closely on next steps.
France has been the most aggressive in seeking to contest Col. Gadhafi and Paris's military forces are expected to play a central, and early role in enforcing the no-fly zone and taking other actions, European and American officials said.
U.S. forces are also expected to take an important part in the operation, but the White House is wary of being seen as the driving force behind any military actions.
U.S. officials said they believed Col. Ghadafi's air defenses and ground forces would be easy targets for air strikes, creating a buffer zone to protect Benghazi.
A family fleeing fighting near Benghazi waits at the Libyan border Thursday after clearing customs to enter Egypt.
"They're no match," one U.S. official said of the Libyan army.
The Pentagon, ahead of the U.N. vote, was already fine-tuning military options for "serious" strikes against ground and air targets should the White House order them, said U.S. defense officials.
The U.S. has enough planes and other military assets in place to begin strikes almost immediately, a defense official said.
Options included using cruise missiles to take out fixed Libyan military sites and air-defense systems, according to these officials. Manned and unmanned aircraft could also be used against Col. Gadhafi's tanks, personnel carriers and infantry positions, with sorties being flown out of U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in the southern Mediterranean.
"There is significant, serious planning going on right now," a U.S. official said. The options would be "more aggressive than a show of force."
U.S. officials have said there are no plans to insert U.S. ground forces into Libya. U.S. military officials say it would be counterproductive to send Western ground forces, even in small numbers, into Benghazi because it would fuel perceptions that the U.S. and its allies were invading an Arab state.
Official reaction in Libya to the U.N. resolution was confused—showing possible rifts within the regime. State media broadcast an announcement attributed to a Libyan military official saying any airstrikes against the country's forces would be met with attacks against maritime and air traffic in the Mediterranean. In a media briefing later, Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim dismissed the threat, and downplayed threats by Col. Gadhafi to attack Benghazi.
Mr. Kaim said Libya had informed the U.N. special envoy to Tripoli Abdel-Ilah Khatib on Wednesday that it was ready to implement a ceasefire "immediately" but needed "to talk to someone to agree on the technicalities of this decision."
Celebratory gunfire erupted in eastern Libya after satellite TV channels reported the approval of the Security Council resolution, with rebel supporting chanting "God is Great" and the Arab revolutions' slogan, "The People Want the Downfall of the Regime."
In Tobruq, hopes were high for a quick turnaround of the war, in which rebel forces sustained a series of painful setbacks in recent days. "This was an excellent decision—it marks the end for Gadhafi," said Ahmad Muftah Mohammad, a 25-year-old revolutionary volunteer in Tobruq.
"I give Gadhafi a maximum of two days," said a fellow rebel, 17-year-old Ashraf Farhat Jawad.
The U.N. vote passed narrowly, as nine votes are required with no vetoes by any of the permanent members of the Security Council.
NATO ambassadors were set to meet Friday morning to decide on involvement in the operation, diplomats said. NATO involvement in military action is possible, a European diplomat said, but since NATO is a consensus organization, the abstention by Germany at the U.N. and possible objection from Turkey could be obstacles.
German Ambassador Peter Witting told the council that Germany wouldn't contribute to the mission with its own forces.
Russia, a vocal critic of the Libya action, abstained, and said it worried about a widening war.
"The passions of some Security Council members for military force prevailed," said Moscow's ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin. "The use of force will fall on the shoulders of those who take action."
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi tells reporters the uprising against his father will be over in two days. Video courtesy of Reuters.
Bahrain police clear Shi'ite protest camp in Manama, using teargas; fleeing protesters throw petrol bombs. Video courtesy of Reuters.
A Libyan woman wears a dress made of the Kindgom of Libya flag used by the revolution during a rally in Benghazi on Saturday calling for the implementation of the No Fly Zone.
Some Russians accused the U.S. of a double-standard, pressing for Col. Gadhafi's removal while supporting Bahrain's royal family, despite its crackdown on protesters. "Why can the King of Bahrain spill the blood of his subjects and the leader of Libya can't?" said Yevgeny Satanovsky, director of the independent Institute for Middle East Studies in Moscow.
The status of Arab participation in any military action in Libya was also unclear, though momentum for the resolution was spurred by an Arab League plea on Saturday.
U.S. and European officials stressed the importance of having Arab states take part in any coalition, logistically and financially, after the Arab League backed the imposition of a no-fly zone. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were among countries that discussed the possibility of assisting the U.S. and French governments in Libya, according to Arab and European diplomats.
A number or Arab governments were still voicing reluctance to back a U.N.-mandated operation in Libya, given frustration over the White House's handling of the recent democracy surge in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., in particular, felt the U.S. abandoned its long-time ally Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and hadn't shown enough support for the Bahraini royal family.
"There is a serious trust deficit right now," said a senior Arab diplomat. "I don't see any of the Gulf countries participating in a no-fly zone."
In recent days, Egypt's military began shipping arms over the border to Libyan rebels with knowledge from Washington, according to a senior U.S. official and Libyan rebel officials. The shipments of mostly small arms, such as assault rifles and ammunition, are the first confirmed case of an outside government arming the rebels fighters.
No comments:
Post a Comment