No Flies On Libya

Things are falling to bits in Libya or, from another perspective, the glorious forces of the beloved Colonel Qaddafi are driving the drug addled, Al Qaida supporters who dared to rebel against his munificence from their positions. Meanwhile various world leaders have taken the opportunity to display either studied indifference or hand wringing impotence. So as you can see its business as usual on the world stage.

The Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council have both announced that they think a no fly zone would be a good idea. I agree, the flies in Libya are horrid. The leaders of France and Britain both agreed that a no fly zone would be a really good idea until it dawned on them that the United States wasn't taking the hint and they might have to do it themselves. Since then their statements have been rather more circumspect. The US itself is currently attempting to straddle both the indifference and impotence stools and is in danger of falling between them.

So what is to be done? Implement the damned no fly zone of course and if Qaddafi challenges it, crush him like a bug. Of course this wont happen. Demands for such things tend to come loudest from those least likely to be shouldering responsibility. Australia's foreign minister has been particularly vociferous in this regard. The Arab League also covered itself in glory by demanding a no fly zone while at the same time stating that they wouldn't do it themselves and probably wouldn't even help pay the costs of whoever did.

The nations of western Europe, too, are great at making magnificent statements of moral intent coupled with resolute inaction. Sadly for all these great humanitarians the only nation that might actually summon up the balls to do something about it isn't interested. Still scarred from its last couple of attempts at proactive diplomacy in the Muslim world the US isn't just not taking the hint, they're not even taking phone calls.

And there the matter will rest because the best opportunity for a no fly zone is already past. With Qaddafi charging for Benghazi like Rommel on a bad face day what's needed now is not a no fly zone but active air support. Good luck getting that from the mish mash of pusillanimous wretchedness that is western Europe.

The sad truth is that western Europe is an old folks home for countries. Once they were mighty but now they are sad, decrepit and virtually senile; listened to only out of pity by their younger and more vigorous sibling in North America. They may jabber as much as they like, without America to back them they are nothing and the rest of the world (including Qaddafi) knows it.

The saddest part about this sad truth? While there are some nations that are genuinely impotent in this regard (such as Australia) the nations of Europe are impotent simply because they are too afraid to fuck. Even now in their utter decline Great Britain or France singly, never mind together, have the muscle and the firepower to grab Qaddafi by the hair and feed him head first into a meatgrinder. They're just too scared to do it. That's what transforms their posturing from the merely pathetic into the genuinely despicable.

There will be reasons of course. The United States has shown exactly what can go wrong when you stick your military nose into another country and no doubt the mess that would follow the fall of Qaddafi would be pretty ugly for a while, but what's happening in Libya is pretty ugly right now. Sooner or later Qaddafi will go and when he does those who replace him will remember who helped and who stood aside and did nothing.

UPDATE

Hmmm a no fly zone from the UN after all, it must be suffering delusions of adequacy. A week or so late but what the heck. If they manage it well they might get it in place just after Qaddafi has mopped up the survivors.