Killing in the name of: Libya, sovereignty, humanity

Libyans are begging to be saved, we are told. From humanitarians to ideologues, newspaper editors to heads-of-state, “the international community” is petitioning to save Libyans. The United States, the European Union, the Arab League, and NATO are considering the imposition of a no-fly zone and other military “options,” citing the need to protect Libyans. NATO has already moved warships and planes close to Libya. Analysts have warned that such an apparently harmless action as a no-fly zone entails violence, air strikes, and deadly consequences, the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates being one of the first to recognize that a no-fly zone “begins with an attack on Libya.” Some international lawyers, among them Richard Falk, have asserted that a no-fly zone would be an act of war, urging the international community to kick its “habit” of intervention.