French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil Wednesday that France would intensify air strikes on Muammar Gaddafi’s army, the president’s office said in a statement.
It gave no detail on how the strikes would be ramped up.
“We are indeed going to intensify the attacks and respond to this request from the national transition council,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement after Sarkozy met Abdel Jalil in Paris, their first face-to-face meeting.
“The President said ‘We will help you,'” the Elysee said.
Isn’t Europe and NATO concerned about exceeding their UN mandate? Or is it that strict compliance applies only to the US and Israel?
So the French President has abandoned all pretense that this operation has any goal other than regime change. I wonder if that’s consistent with the Holy Writ of the UNSC that authorized ‘protection of civilians.’ Perhaps ‘protection of civilians’ is now defined as ‘regime change.’ In any case, this article indicates that both France and Britain have sent ‘advisers’ to help the rebels. The tendrils continue to wrap themselves around the NATO coalition.
carl
Some of us can walk and chew gum at the same time. But those who can’t, have my sympathy.
Personally, I am glad that France and Britain have achieved a humanitarian goal, and I hope they achieve regime change as well.
Apart from the desirability of getting rid of a tapeworm like Qaddafi on Europe’s doorstep, there is a new wave of change sweeping through middle eastern and african politics, and we the West need to be seen as its friend.
My problem is the hypocrisy. If Bush did the very same thing, this would be bad and American imperialism. Obama is in office and so now we should get into every war possible? I want to get beyond the travesty that we have gotten ourselves into of supporting our party’s president’s wars and opposing the other party’s president’s wars.
Gaddafi is the scum of the earth. Agreed. So what is the principled basis on which we go to war?
Br. Michael,
That’s a different question and we foreigners can’t really comment. If Obama hasn’t been following his proper constitutional or political processes, then he has to answer to his own people. Best wishes.