Impose No-Fly on Libya
The question raised by the wave of protests spreading across the Middle East is not whether to deal with autocrats, but how to deal with them.
Less than two years ago, prime ministers and presidents sat down to talk about world trade and food security with Muammar Qaddafi. Today, Libya’s tyrant is paying mercenaries to shoot his people in the streets like “rats” and “cockroaches”. When strongmen are vulnerable, as now, the priority is to push them towards reform and away from violence. The West should press for human rights and democracy—even when it is inconvenient, as it is with China and Russia. Just ask those who have summoned up the courage to risk death for a cause on the streets of Tripoli.
