Decision Time Is Near for Qadhaffi

As some have been saying for more than a week, Libya is slipping closer and closer to civil war. This would suit the Qadhaffi clan just fine. They could bomb the military installations that have put their allegiance in the freedom movement. They could hold hostages and summarily execute prisoners of “war.”

Of course, Qadhaffi is a past expert at most of these maneuvers. Torture and killing seem to be his forté. He has, in the past 24 hours, bombed a military installation about 200 miles west of Benghazi with strafing fire and small bombs. He is holding the citizens of Tripoli hostage, literally paying them to remain in his sphere of influence.

It has been reported in Europe that Qadhaffi gave some of the Africans working in Libya the choice of taking guns and marauding in the streets of Tripoli, or being summarily shot. The decision was undoubtedly easy, but caught in a lose-lose situation, some of these Africans have since been shot by the freedom fighters.

Again and again, the question comes back to how long the United Nations and NATO can delay making a decision to rid Libya of Qadhaffi. A week ago, it would have taken commandos in a night mission. Today, it will take army and naval air force support, already being readied by the USA, and will undoubtedly cost many civilians trapped in Tripoli their lives. If Qadhaffi manages to get ahead of an eventual allied attack, he will surely also take aim at Benghazi and other freedom movement strongholds.

The newest reason not to act was given yesterday as follows: Arab nations might react negatively if we attack Libya. I have not heard one person suggest attacking Libya. It is Qadhaffi we are taking aim at, in the name of all freedom-loving Libyans. Frankly, I cannot think of one Arab nation that would not welcome the elimination of Qadhaffi, who has been a sore in their midst for 40 years. A simple reality check would bear this out, even if the Arab world remains silent in the face of such a success.

George Washington once remarked that “ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

If we apply this to the dithering of all the international organizations trying to figure out how to remove a minor despot, we must hope that they never have to face a real one.