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Obama AWOL as U.N. pressured to institute no-fly zone against Libya
by Joseph Ernest March 17, 2011
UPDATE!!! UN Approves No-Fly Zone
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PREVIOUSLY ON NEWSCAST MEDIA:
Newscast Media --As Gadhafi continues to plough through toward the last stronghold of rebel-held city Beghazi, the U.N is experiencing pressure to enforce a no-fly zone before it is too late. Obama had promised the opposition that America would help in any way, however, the rebels felt let down due to the perceived passivity on behalf of the West. One general said, "How many Libyans need to die before the West can intervene? Do we need to start committing suicide to raise the body-count in order for the West to act?"
Such frustration among the rebels gave Gadhafi a chance to go on the offensive. Just a few weeks ago, SKY News and other outlets reported that the rebels were less than 100 miles from Tripoli, however, the optimism faded after Gadhafi employed his airforce to demoralize the rebels. Enough collateral damage was done to push the rebels back far East and now Benghazi is all they have. Saif al-Gadhafi, the first son, said he expected total victory within 48 hours.
No room for weakness - winner takes all
Gadhafi is making a point to prove he is more man than Obama can handle. Gadhafi also knows that Obama is an indecisive president whom Hillary Clinton is very frustrated with so the more time it takes for Obama to make up his mind as to whether there are enough dead Libyans for him to act, the better for Gadhafi, because if Obama decides that a no-fly zone would be good in November, Gadhafi would have cleared Benghazi of the opposition, buried them, and no one will even remember they ever existed.
Indecision is interpreted as weakness and spinelessness by Arabs and that is exactly what Obama is projecting. If a president has to feel the hair on the back of his neck standing, or cold chills and hot flashes running up and down his spine, or dip his finger in saliva and stick it out to see what direction the wind is blowing before making a decision, you can't blame his Secretary of State who criticized him for not being able to handle a 3AM phone-call in an emergency situation. Hillary's frustration is justified. Strong women like Hillary have no room for weakness.
The rebels had counted on the West to act in their favor, and say they have been disappointed at the non-response to their pleas. Obama, Cameron, Clinton and Sarkozy had all said that Gadhafi needed to step down and allow a new government to replace him. Whether those were empty words or words with weight remains to be seen, but Gadhafi is using all the inaction by the West to his advantage and is actually succeeding. Should Gadhafi succeed militarily, he will have bragging rights of having defeated the West, and also the Arab League whom he said were "finished". The Arab League supports the no-fly zone.
The Obama administration has now said, "We need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include, but perhaps go beyond, a no-fly zone at this point, as the situation on the ground has evolved, and as a no-fly zone has inherent limitations in terms of protection of civilians at immediate risk."
Gadhafi recruits mercenaries from the Great Lakes
Arabian channel Al Jazeera reports that pressure on the council mounted as Libya's deputy UN envoy, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against Gaddafi, said "the international community has to act within the next 10 hours."
He said he had information that Gaddafi forces, backed by hundreds of mercenaries from Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Chad, were preparing major offensives in eastern and western Libya.
Gaddafi's forces have inflicted several defeats on rebels in recent days and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also hinted at a hardening Washington stance when she said the United States wanted a vote by the end of Thursday.
Related article:
War is on - UN approves no-fly zone and airstrikes.
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