Taking on Gadhafi

By the time you read this British and French combat planes will probably have knocked out Libya´s air defense system and carried out targeted raids against Colonel Gadhafi´s forces that have been butchering the Libyan people. This delusional despot should have been removed long ago—or at least soon after he started massacring his own countrymen with his jets and tanks. Unfortunately, a divided international community looked on passively for far too long.



As Gadhafi’s forces pushed relentlessly towards the last rebel stronghold of Benghazi, and Gadhafi himself vowed on a radio call-in show before the United Nations Security Council vote on Libya that his forces would show no mercy to those who tried to resist, the moral imperative of the world community prevailed. The UNSC decided to "take all necessary measures" -- diplomatic code language for military action-- to protect civilians in Libya. And better late than never.



If the international community had not stiffened its spine to take on the north African dictator, Gadhafi would have turned Libya into another Rwanda or worse. And other despots around the world would have taken their cue from him: turn off your moral compass and use brutal force to suppress peaceful uprisings. And if you succeed you can continue in power and will probably be accepted back at the high table in due course as memories of your atrocities fade away. Thank God the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt succeeded; otherwise, both these countries might just have gone the Libyan way.



And those who care about the civilians in Libya should thank France and the United Kingdom for showing leadership and a sense of urgency in persuading Security Council members to reach a decision and stop Quadaffi in his tracks. As the United States, already bogged down in two wars in as many Muslim countries, was reluctant to show initiative and China, Russia and Germany were opposed to military action till the end, Gadhafi would have prevailed had the French and the British not led the way.



In the face of the Security Council resolution a regime that had remained defiant until yesterday and shown no remorse in killing its own people has now offered an "immediate ceasefire and the stoppage of military operations". It only shows that the international community should have acted earlier. Had it done so many lives would have been saved. The international initiative should now end only after Gadhafi and his equally murderous sons are hauled to the International Criminal Court (ICC).



The ICC, which has already initiated investigations against the Gadhafi regime for possible crime against humanity, should expedite its investigations and indictment. On no pretext should this dictator be let off the hook, let alone allowed to rule Libya again.

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