revolt like an egyptian

Clinton: Libya Should Be in U.N. Hands

After a tough week of talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now backing away from a U.S.-led initiative in Libya. “We want to see the international community support it [a no-fly zone]” she said in an interview with Sky News. “I think it’s very important that this not be a U.S.-led effort.” The U.S. has ” called for Colonel Qaddafi to leave. When a leader turns against his own people, that is the end.”

But it seems that the anti-Qaddafi Libyan rebels can’t wait for the U.S. or the U.N. to make a decision on military intervention. On Tuesday, fighting continued on multiple fronts, with rebels confessing to dwindling arms supplies. “Apart from a few mechanized units in Benghazi and Tobruk, and a few armored battalions near Bayda, rebel-controlled areas lack any substantial hardware with which to take on the pro-Qaddafi stronghold of Tripoli,” said a report from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. And regardless of whether the rebels managed to eke out a win against Qaddafi, the effect is already being felt. “The longer this conflict lasts, the more people are going to be radicalized,” said Ibrahim el-Gadi, whose son was wounded in a fight. “We are not now, but it will be so if this conflict doesn’t finish.”

Opposition in Libya Struggles to Find a United Front [NYT]
Libya no-fly zone must have U.N. backing: Clinton [Reuters]

Clinton: Libya Should Be in U.N. Hands