Dithering While Syria Burns?

When Libyan rebels ousted the late Muammar Khaddafy's dictatorial regime in the late fall of 2011, their difficult task was made easier by the international community's timely declaration of a "No Fly Zone" enforced not only by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) but also by various members of the Arab League. Carried out by military aircraft from France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Canada, Qatar, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and Norway, Operation Freedom Falcon and several supporting naval missions helped keep Khaddafy's forces from achieving air supremacy, prevented massive civilian losses from loyalist air strikes on rebel-held cities and degraded the regime's capacity to carry out successful ground counteroffensives against the Free Libyan forces.

Back in 2011, the anti-Khaddafy coalition could count on the West, particularly the United States and her allies, to provide military assistance that would assist the Free Libyan movement in their popular revolt without the need for any foreign ground forces.  The opponents to Khaddafy knew that the presence of foreign troops on Libyan soil could generate support for the regime;  their canny foe,  who had ruled Libya since a coup d'etat in 1969 and become a rogue state which carried out terrorism and supported such anti-Western rulers as Idi Amin, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, could rally support for his cause if America and her allies in the region sent ground forces.

After weeks of diplomatic maneuvering and calls for a no-fly-zone in various venues, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1973, which says in part:

“Determining that the situation in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

“Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

“1.   Demands the immediate establishment of a ceasefire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against, and abuses of, civilians;

“2.   Stresses the need to intensify efforts to find a solution to the crisis which responds to the legitimate demands of the Libyan people and notes the decisions of the Secretary-General to send his Special Envoy to Libya and of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to send its ad hoc High-Level Committee to Libya with the aim of facilitating dialogue to lead to the political reforms necessary to find a peaceful and sustainable solution;

“3.   Demands that the Libyan authorities comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights and refugee law and take all measures to protect civilians and meet their basic needs, and to ensure the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance;

“Protection of civilians

“4.   Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;

“5.   Recognizes the important role of the League of Arab States in matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security in the region, and bearing in mind Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, requests the Member States of the League of Arab States to cooperate with other Member States in the implementation of paragraph 4;

“No-fly zone

“6.   Decides to establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians;

“7.   Decides further that the ban imposed by paragraph 6 shall not apply to flights whose sole purpose is humanitarian, such as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, humanitarian workers and related assistance, or evacuating foreign nationals from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, nor shall it apply to flights authorised by paragraphs 4 or 8, nor other flights which are deemed necessary by States acting under the authorization conferred in paragraph 8 to be for the benefit of the Libyan people, and that these flights shall be coordinated with any mechanism established under paragraph 8;

“8.   Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights imposed by paragraph 6 above, as necessary, and requests the States concerned in cooperation with the League of Arab States to coordinate closely with the Secretary General on the measures they are taking to implement this ban, including by establishing an appropriate mechanism for implementing the provisions of paragraphs 6 and 7 above,

“9.   Calls upon all Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to provide assistance, including any necessary overflight approvals, for the purposes of implementing paragraphs 4, 6, 7 and 8 above;

“10.  Requests the Member States concerned to coordinate closely with each other and the Secretary-General on the measures they are taking to implement paragraphs 4, 6, 7 and 8 above, including practical measures for the monitoring and approval of authorised humanitarian or evacuation flights;

“11.  Decides that the Member States concerned shall inform the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States immediately of measures taken in exercise of the authority conferred by paragraph 8 above, including to supply a concept of operations;

“12.  Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Council immediately of any actions taken by the Member States concerned in exercise of the authority conferred by paragraph 8 above and to report to the Council within 7 days and every month thereafter on the implementation of this resolution, including information on any violations of the flight ban imposed by paragraph 6 above..."

Photo by Gigi Ibrahim, The Egyptian Liberal

Of course, Resolution 1973 was not universally supported; Khaddafy supporters, including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, criticized it as an imperialistic attack on a sovereign nation, and five sitting Security Council nations, including Brazil, Germany, India, Russia and China, abstained.  (Luckily, neither China or Russia used their veto power to stop Resolution 1973.)

Although the Libyan Civil War raged on for nearly eight months, Resolution 1973 and the air support given to the Libyan rebels toppled the tottering Khaddafy regime; the dictator himself was killed by a pistol-wielding rebel, and as of this writing Libya is on its way to becoming a true Arab democratic nation.

Paradoxically, the Syrian revolt against strongman Bashir Assad has not resulted in a similarly decisive act of support by the same countries who helped free Libya from its 42-year-old dictatorship.  Instead of giving the fighters of the Free Syrian Army the same aerial umbrella and material support given to the Libyan rebels by the West and some Arab countries, America and the other great world powers are content with imposing economic sanctions and applying diplomatic "pressure" to Bashir Assad so that he will leave power on his own.

Assad's Syria is widely condemned by many nations, including Sunni Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and many citizens from those countries have volunteered to join the anti-Assad forces.  The U.S., Turkey and Great Britain are also aiding the rebels, mainly by providing non-lethal support (such as electronic devices that can be used to promulgate the rebels' messages through the Internet or other means of communication).  However, because Russia, China and Iran oppose any armed intervention, until very recently the idea of setting up a no-fly zone has not enthusiastically been promoted by nations friendly to the anti-Assad forces.

But as mujahedeen friendly to Al Qaeda and other Sunni extremists pour into Syria to bring down Bashir Assad, the West is perhaps reconsidering the no-fly-zone option.

According to a report by Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her country and Turkey would study a range of possible measures to help Assad's foes, including a no-fly zone, although she indicated no decisions were necessarily imminent.

"It is one thing to talk about all kinds of potential actions, but you cannot make reasoned decisions without doing intense analysis and operational planning," she said after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul.

Though any intervention appears to be a distant prospect, her remarks were nevertheless the closest Washington has come to suggesting direct military action in Syria.

"There are areas that are being liberated," Sida told Reuters by telephone from Istanbul. "But the problem is the aircraft, in addition to the artillery bombardment, causing killing, destruction."

He said the establishment of secure areas on the borders with Jordan and Turkey "was an essential thing that would confirm to the regime that its power is diminishing bit by bit".

A no-fly zone imposed by NATO and Arab allies helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year. The West has shown little appetite for repeating any Libya-style action in Syria, and Russia and China strongly oppose any such intervention.

As understandable as it is for the decision-makers in the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon to be reluctant to begin another military operation in a volatile region such as the Middle East, it makes more sense to act now and provide the Syrian rebels with more than just non-lethal assistance.  The fighters and their leaders who are being bombarded by Assad's forces will more than likely end up winning, especially if terrorists jump in and carry out devastating strikes against important targets.  If so, it's would be wise to remember that the Free Syrians will neither forget nor forgive the U.S. and her allies for not repeating what we did in Libya in 2011.

Sources: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm#Resolution, text of UN Security Council Resolution 1973

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/12/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE8610SH20120812, Syrian rebels need no fly zone - opposition leader