While I understand people's emotional responses to wanting to help the Libyan rebels (I want to help them too), it is important to understand what "humanitarian intervention" really means--which is boots on the ground, even with a no-fly zone. It's important to understand that commitments to "no occupation" can be changed in the blink of an eye. (Remember, we are not "occupying" Iraq either.) It's also important to remember that our reasons for invading Iraq and Afghanistan are under "humanitarian" cover. We're protecting women from the Taliban and we were liberating Iraqis from Saddam Hussein. One of the major reasons urbanites in Afghanistan can't fight back against the Taliban is because of our presence. There is a real possibility that a strike on Libya by western nations will pull Libyans together to fight the Western outsiders, in fact weakening resistance numbers.
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We would argue that war as a humanitarian action should be undertaken only with the clear understanding that in the end it might cause more suffering than the civil war. It should also be undertaken with the clear understanding that the inhabitants might prove less than grateful, and the rest of the world would not applaud nearly as much as might be liked — and would be faster to condemn the occupier when things went wrong. Indeed, the recently formed opposition council based out of Benghazi — the same group that is leading the calls from eastern Libya for foreign airstrikes against Gadhafi’s air force — has explicitly warned against any military intervention involving troops on the ground."<<
Read more: How a Libyan No-fly Zone Could Backfire | STRATFOR
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20110308-how-libyan-no-fly-zone-could-backfireI understand why some people are for this and I recognize that your hearts are in the right places. But you have to recognize that those of us who are against this also support the rebels and our hearts are in the right places too. It is a tragedy, and I stand by the rebels, but I don't want a UN military intervention.
(Edit to change punctuation in title)