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There Is Less To Arab Support For Intervention Than Meets The Eye

Marc Lynch pours some cold water on interventionist arguments that attacking Libya would represent a “new beginning” for the U.S. in the region: While Arab public opinion should not be the sole consideration in shaping American decisions on this difficult question, Americans also should not fool themselves into thinking that an American military intervention will […]

Marc Lynch pours some cold water on interventionist arguments that attacking Libya would represent a “new beginning” for the U.S. in the region:

While Arab public opinion should not be the sole consideration in shaping American decisions on this difficult question, Americans also should not fool themselves into thinking that an American military intervention will command long-term popular Arab support. Every Arab opinion leader and Libyan representative I spoke with at the conference told me that “American military intervention is absolutely unacceptable.” Their support for a No Fly Zone rapidly evaporates when discussion turns to American bombing campaigns. This tracks with what I see in the Arab media and the public conversation. As urgently as they want the international community to come to the aid of the Libyan people, the U.S. would be better served focusing on rapid moves toward non-military means of supporting the Libyan opposition.

If support for a no-fly zone in Libya evaporates when conversation turns to American bombing campaigns, which are the necessary preparation for any no-fly zone in which U.S. forces are involved, support for a no-fly zone doesn’t actually exist among these leaders. Arab League and Libyan rebel support for action that doesn’t include support for the things that are necessary to realize that action doesn’t mean anything. Like other governments, League governments have felt the need to be seen doing something, and so they have endorsed a no-fly zone in what is little more than a symbolic gesture.

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