Every time President Obama talks about Libya, he repeats that America is not acting alone, that the Arab League is behind the action and that this is not about imposing change from outside. But as American cruise missiles explode in Libya his statements will compete with the noise of war, which threatens to drown out his insistent message. Actions do indeed speak louder than words.

Obama's message may be in part intended to sooth supporters at home, who saw their man as an anti-war president and are now having second thoughts. But they are much more for the world beyond the West. A reassurance that Libya is not Iraq, this is not imperialism, this is not the America that decides world winners and losers. It is not the Western crusade for oil that Gaddafi describes.

The President jumped off the fence at the last moment for a number of reasons. The rapidly crumbling of the rebel forces, the realization Gaddafi was about to win. The support of the Arab League. But unavoidably, choice was forced upon him by the vigorous lead given by Britain and France. Crucial allies of the US, they were out front, loud in their demands and the moment was approaching when Obama would either have to oppose them or back them.

Not joining in was too risky, a declaration of independence too far for a president who stress the need for the world to work together.

They had their own, internal political reasons. Sarkozy after an embarrassing Egyptian crisis, wanted to put himself on the front foot. Cameron sees this as a big foreign policy moment, and wants to establish his reputation. But it is far too cynical to put their enthusiasm down to these shallow reasons alone.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/

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CAIRO—The Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, deplored the broad scope of the U.S.-European bombing campaign in Libya on Sunday and said he would call a new league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/arab-league-condemns-broad-bombing-campaign-in-libya/2011/03/20/AB1pSg1_story.html?hpid=z3

US president Barack Obama has stressed Moamar Gaddafi has to go, as allied warplanes continue to pound the Libyan leader's forces amid a fierce battle for the key town of Ajdabiya.

Mr Obama was speaking after the US general in charge of the campaign insisted Mr Gaddafi was not a target and Russian president Vladmir Putin likened the campaign to a "medieval crusade".

The US president said the US expected to transfer the lead military role to other allies in a matter of days.

"Our military action is in support of an international mandate from the Security Council that specifically focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Colonel Gaddafi's people," he said in Santiago, Chile.

Mr Obama said as part of the international coalition now enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya, he had "authorised the United States military to work with our international partners to fulfil that mandate."

"Now, I also have stated that it is US policy that Gaddafi needs to go," he added.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/22/3169947.htm

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Ah crap... No excuses, no hidden agenda, no lies... Just a "he must go" routine!...

Who will be the next one on the list? Will the Saudi king be at the end of a domino effect of "going" Muslim leaders that could give these countries a perfect Al Qaeda hideout, a haven for extremists and an emergence of enlightement in the Muslim world?

It complicated... No one knows who the rebels are, nor what their intentions are... just the "he must go" finger pointing...

Peace, man, peace... ASAP.

BEIJING — China on Monday stepped up its criticism of the U.S.-led airstrikes against Libya, using the Communist Party’s main media organs to say the military intervention undermines the United Nations charter.

“The military attacks on Libya are, following on from the Afghan and Iraq wars, the third time that some countries have launched armed action against sovereign countries,” said a commentary in the Communist Party’s main newspaper, People’s Daily.

“In today’s world where some people with the Cold War mentality are still keen on the use of force, people have reason to express concerns about the effects of the military action,” said the commentary, signed by a name, Zhongsheng, believed to be a pseudonym.

Another Communist-run newspaper, Global Times, which is owned by People’s Daily, had a separate editorial Monday saying Western powers were now trying to take over the “jasmine revolutions” roiling the Middle East.

“The West will not give up their jurisdiction over justice and injustice,” the Global Times editorial said. “They truly believe that they are the world’s custodian and the embodiment of justice. The Jasmine Revolution actually deepens their sense of purpose, and the West cannot bear the prospect that their will might be negated by Gaddafi.”

The strong-worded critical commentaries, believed to reflect official opinion, came one day after the foreign ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, on Sunday said China “regrets” the start of military action in Libya.

China, like Russia, abstained in the Security Council vote authorizing the use of military force against Gaddafi’s forces, although as a veto-wielding member, Beijing could have blocked the resolution.

Analysts said the Chinese government was attempting to balance competing interests by trying not to specifically block a military intervention that had the support of the Arab League and the African Union, reiterating its long-standing opposition to what it deems “interference” in the affairs of sovereign nations, and at the same time protecting its standing and economic interests in the vital oil-producing Middle East.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-after-abstaining-in-un-vote-criticizes-airstrikes-on-gaddafi-forces/2011/03/21/ABwL4M7_print.html