Washington Post:
The Arab League called on the U.N. Security Council on Saturday to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and announced that it was recognizing the rebel movement as that country's legitimate government.
The move could significantly raise pressure on the United States and European nations to act in response to the conflict that has erupted in recent weeks as rebels have seized half of Libya and Moammar Gaddafi's security forces have struck back with massive firepower. NATO has said an Arab endorsement of the no-fly zone was a precondition for taking such action.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa announced the move in Cairo on Saturday evening, saying that the no fly-zone should have "one goal: to protect the civilian population of Libya."
The decision was made by representatives of 21 nations; Gaddafi's government, which had been a member of the Arab League, was not invited. Moussa said the Arab League would begin working immediately with an interim council established by rebels in the eastern city of Benghazi.
It is highly unusual for the Arab League to ask for international military action against one of its own members, but Moussa said Gaddafi's government had become illegitimate.
"The fatal violation and the dangerous crimes of the Libyan authorities make [the government] illegal," Moussa said.
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It would probably be cheaper and more humane to just destroy Qadaffi's air force. There is really no reason to let it survive at this point. The reason we did not do the same to Saddam after 1991 is that we did not want to tempt Iran into an attack. That is not a problem with Libya.
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