Officials: West is not yet ready to intervene in Libya

March 10, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Photo by: Kevin Frayer

Photo

Libyan women protest to demand the resignation of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and for a no-fly zone during a demonstration in Benghazi, eastern Libya, Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

McClatchy Newspapers

BRUSSELS

On a day when Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces again launched withering attacks against rebels using warplanes, tanks and artillery, U.S. officials and foreign diplomats said Wednesday that the carnage hadn’t reached a tipping point necessary for a Western military response.

Beginning today, NATO defense ministers will meet for two days in Brussels, to determine whether and under what circumstances to impose a no-fly zone to stop Gadhafi’s air attacks. Some Arab states in recent days have backed imposing a no-fly zone, but there is no consensus, and such a plan could take some time to implement.

Western officials have expressed concerns that a no-fly zone would not turn the tide of the fighting. But diplomats said that if the Libyan government escalates attacks on civilians, there is strong support for such a move in many NATO capitals.

The Obama administration and its allies prefer to first get the blessing of the U.N. Security Council. But they may be willing to endorse the step without it, provided there is support from such organizations as NATO, the Arab League and the African Union. U.S. and European officials fear without such support, any Western-led intervention could provoke a negative reaction in Arab nations.