MILITARY ACTION IN LIBYA? – AT 8:53 P.M. ET:  Reportedly, there are some plans to get a UN Security Council resolution on Libya, but the effort looks vague and anemic, and dependent on Russian and Chinese support.  From Reuters and the Jerusalem Post:

Britain and France are preparing a UN Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya, and diplomats said on Monday it will be tough but not impossible to get Russia's and China's support.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said in London that Britain was working with other countries on a draft. Diplomats in Paris and New York said the work was being done by Britain and France in close consultation with the United States and Germany.

Hague told the British parliament there were "credible reports" that Libyan government forces had used helicopter gunships against civilians as supporters of Muammar Gaddafi try to put down a revolt against his 41-year rule.

Diplomats said a decision by France and Britain to submit a draft resolution to the 15-nation council would depend on whether certain "triggers" for action were met. These, they said, could include a marked deterioration of the humanitarian situation or mass aerial bombardments of civilian areas.

"We just want to be ready should the decision to launch negotiations on such a (no-fly zone) resolution be made so that we can make as rapid progress as possible," a diplomat said.

Some envoys said the NATO alliance could be charged with enforcing the zone. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said that the alliance would only do so if the UN Security Council authorized it.

COMMENT:  Where is the leadership from the United States?  Need we ask?

This looks awfully weak.  If there's a humanitarian crisis, nations and alliances, such as NATO, can act on their own.  Who needs the cynicism and weakness of the UN? 

I can't imagine Gaddafi feeling too panicked by this.

March 7, 2011