Bypassing the civil society that started the revolution leads to two options for Yemen's future, and neither bodes well for stability.
It has been relatively easy for NATO to violate UN Resolution 1973 in part because of the splits of the peace movement worldwide. The peace movement will have to work very hard to counter the other interests involved in the next stage. A few voices are warning against continuing intervention.
Support by the Arab League for the military operations in Libya has been an effective diplomatic means for Saudi Arabia and the GCC to redirect interest in internal Arab states of affairs away from the Arabian Peninsula and onto North Africa. The strategy seems to work nicely: the silence surround
Al Qaeda are trying to make up for the Arab spring in several areas, including Yemen.
Libya falls in a category where criminal justice should be sequenced so it does not hamper the possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict. Issuing arrest warrants on Gaddafi and his comrades is an undesirable move.
Nonviolent power is quickly forgotten when the tried, tested and endlessly catastrophic option of violence re-presents itself to Western powers. Nonviolence is what we applaud. Violence is what we do
We should focus on strengthening democratic and non-violent processes to stabilise Libya long-term.
Dostoevsky was in favor of military intervention in the Balkans, Tolstoy opposed to it. The arguments they put forward are surprisingly relevant to our own current wars.
Libya's war is being shaped by Tripoli's defiance, the rebels' endurance, and the western coalition's strains. In the mix, a Gaddafi regime faced with elimination is making larger plans.
A similar conjoining of purpose with process, in relation to the collective use of force, has not been seen since the 1991 Gulf War.
For France, acting in a ‘humanitarian’ manner means intervening in Libya’s civil war but does not extend to freely accepting refugees from Libya or Tunisia within its borders.
Obama, Cameron and Erdogan have it all wrong. Libya is an exercise in regime change but it will not be another Iraq.
