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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2011 > March > 18 > Entry
Editorial: U.S. reluctance on Libya was wise, but time came
International intervention in Libya is happening at the right time and — or so it appears — in the right way.
The United Nations’ authorization of a no-fly zone — an order to the Libyan military not to enter certain air space — became necessary because of concern, among other things, that brutal dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who has made ugly threats, might victimize civilians in huge numbers.
International organizations are looking better than usual. The U.N. often has difficulty acting because it can’t get consensus. This time the Security Council was able to act because Russia, China, Germany, Brazil and India didn’t vote.
More striking, the Arab League called for the no-fly zone. For Arab governments to take the political risk of asking for help from the West — including the United States — says something important about the standing now of the most radical anti-American forces in the Mideast.
The anti-Gadhafi effort so far is genuinely international. It needs to be carried out that way.
President Barack Obama has had all manner of excellent reasons for his reluctance to take the lead, much less go it alone:
The rebellions in the Mideast have been homegrown and have benefited from that; American involvement could hurt them.
And the United States already has two wars going in that part of the world, an enormous burden on the military people of a country whose debt level is becoming an international issue.
And the American people do not want to see their young people losing their lives in this cause. Libya, after all, has never been considered a country crucial to American security interests.
This country cannot be sending the message that any time there’s an uprising against a dictator that falls short, Washington will turn the tide. That’s asking too much. It makes the United States the world’s arbiter and military force.
The rebels in Libya deserve respect and consideration. Though nobody knows for sure where they would take that country, they have risked their lives for a good cause.
But they didn’t consult Washington first, and they were not given any promises.
Even if the delay in imposing a no-fly zone helped the Gadhafi forces a lot, even in retrospect, the idea of a quick American move into yet another war looks awfully problematic. It was right to wait for the request from the Arab League, right to let France and Britain get out front and right to let the U.N. act.
The message has been sent that there’s a limit to the world’s restraint. Now Washington must do its part.
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