PARIS — In diplomatic terms, international military action against Libya’s leader went from the brainstorming stage to the shooting-at-tanks stage with stunning speed.
The launch Saturday of U.S., British and French airstrikes with Arab backing and a U.N. mandate was not universally endorsed. It is unclear whether it will be fast enough to do what its proponents want, to shore up rebel forces and oust Libya’s mercurial and brutal dictator, Moammar Khadafy.
But the cascade of quick, weighty decisions getting there was unusual — just one of the unusual things about this dramatic operation.
It has the backing of the Arab League, which has balked at other interventions in the Arab world and is known more for lengthy deliberations than action. And it was initiated by the French, who opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
It was French President Nicolas Sarkozy who announced that 22 participants in an emergency summit in Paris on Saturday had agreed to launch armed action against Khadafy’s military.
The action in Libya came after the international community was slow to respond to swelling protests in Tunisia and then Egypt in January and February that toppled longtime autocrats and sparked uprisings around the Arab world.
Leaders and diplomats dawdled less when Libya’s Khadafy started shooting at protesters.
Support in Arab countries has mounted for a no-fly zone. Some members wanted to make sure there was no full-blown Western invasion and hoped endorsing a no-fly zone would give them more leverage with the West on military plans.
With Khadafy’s forces showing signs of resurgence, the 22-member Arab League called March 12 for the U.N.’s Security Council to impose a no-fly zone. That resolution won U.N. adoption Thursday.
Sarkozy hastily gathered 22 high- powered guests for a lunch summit Saturday. After lunch, Sarkozy announced that the political leaders had agreed to launch military action. French planes, he said, were already in the air. Ninety minutes later, French military officials reported their first strike.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “We have every reason to fear that left unchecked, Khadafy will commit unspeakable atrocities.”
But several countries remain cautious or openly critical about the risky operation.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it noted the launch of operations “with regret” and that the U.N. resolution authorizing them was “hastily approved.”
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has longstanding ties to Khadafy, said the U.S. and its allies simply want to “seize Libya’s oil” and that the United Nations has “infringed on its fundamental principles.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she backed the operation but added, “We will not participate with our own soldiers.”
In Brussels, NATO’s top decision-making body appeared poised to decide today “if and how the alliance will join” the effort, said Martin Povejsil, the Czech Republic’s envoy to NATO.
