Thursday, February 24, 2011
Editorial

People around the world are enraged at what is taking place in Libya, as the regime of Moammar Gadhafi commits massacres against innocent civilians.
People throughout the Arab world are enraged at what is taking place in Libya, buoyed by the earlier, dramatic developments in Tunisia and Egypt, and the hope that change might be near.
Libyans in Gadhafi’s own regime – its diplomatic corps and its armed forces – are also enraged, and have begun deserting the colonel.

And while the international media has relished the opportunity to describe the insanity of Tripoli’s leader, much less scrutiny has been devoted to the bizarre stance of the U.S. and leading European powers, which are offering heartfelt statements of … disapproval.

No rage. No embarrassment. No determination to do anything of consequence.
Western politicians have engaged in some diplomatic finger-wagging over the events in Libya, and mustered the energy to pretend that they are angry. The defenders of these pillars of the international community will cite the supposedly “strong” language that is being issued, but no one is being fooled.

A serious effort to endorse and enforce tough sanctions against Gadhafi’s regime has yet to materialize. A more immediate measure, like setting up a no-fly zone, could do much to limit Gadhafi’s ability to mow down his own citizens in cold blood. He is, after all, transporting mercenaries across borders to engage in crimes against humanity. With all international laws on the books to prevent all types of cross-border crimes, such as shady financial transfers, and trafficking in humans, one would think some urgent action could be taken to prevent the renting of ready-made murderers..

When civilians suffered in Kosovo, NATO was quick to act and intervene to prevent human rights violations. In Iraq, Western powers were enthusiastic about bringing down a tyrant to “establish democracy.” But when it comes to Libya, official Western rage is all but absent.
Does it all come down to oil? Is there something special about the Gadhafi regime that makes it the most competent authority to manage the country’s natural wealth, such that the West is cautious about acting against a bloody madman?

Is it because Western politicians are implicated in corruption, and too-friendly ties with Gadhafi in recent years, when the business contracts flowed?

The U.N. Security Council might be “gravely concerned,” but people in this part of the world know full well that dozens and dozens of resolutions in the past have gone unimplemented, for various reasons.
Unless the world’s leading powers act seriously to curtail the violence, they should be considered hypocrites, and complicit in the daily atrocities that are taking place in Libya.