Britain has backtracked from its belligerent military stance over Libya after the Obama administration publicly distanced itself from David Cameron's suggestion that Nato should establish a no-fly zone over the country and that rebel forces should be armed.
As senior British military sources expressed concern that Downing Street appeared to be overlooking the dangers of being sucked into a long and potentially dangerous operation, the prime minister said Britain would go no further than contacting the rebel forces at this stage.
The marked change of tone by the prime minister, who told MPs on Monday that Britain did not "in any way rule out the use of military assets", came as the British-educated son of Muammar Gaddafi mocked Cameron for trying to act as a hero. Saif al-Islam told Sky News: "Everybody wants to be a hero, to be important in history."
In Libya, Gaddafi appeared to settling into a deeper stalemate as attacks by his forces failed to dislodge the opposition from areas of several cities that they hold. A convoy of government aid, which Gaddafi's government said was bound for the eastern city of the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi, set out from Tripoli . The 20 trucks were carrying food and medicine.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/mar/01/cameron-backtracks-libya-zone-usTop powers split over Libya options
Western powers are weighing the military option against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi with US ships being moved to waters closer to Libya and more calls being made for a "no-fly zone" over the North African country.
Russia has however described the no-fly zone idea as "superfluous" and along with France cautioned against moving militarily against Gaddafi without UN authorisation.
“At the moment it seems that the international community is not speaking with one voice on this issue, so in the meantime we will have to wait to see how this plays out,” Al Jazeera’s John Terrett, reporting from Washington, said.
While Jay Carney, a White House spokesman, said on Tuesday that the ships are being moved in order to prepare for contingencies of a chiefly humanitarian nature, he was quick to add that "we aren't taking any options off the table."
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/africa/2011/03/20113115576219900.htmlOil price is not high enough yet.