MELANIE SLOCUM
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

On March 19, the United States along with Eurpean allies initiated strikes against Libyan leader Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi and his government to assist Libyan opposition forces in overthrowing Qaddafi.

Political protests swept through the Middle Eastern region and several Libyan cities in February while many Libyan dissenters aimed to overthrow Colonel Qaddafi after being in power for more than 40 years. Qaddafi responded with a series of violent attacks against dissenting citizens. The extremity of Qaddafi’s acts fueled the organization of the opposition which resulted in the formation of a rebel army, transitioning government and a plea to the Western hemisphere.

Allied American and European forces began a mission on March 19 to impose a no-fly zone over Libya by launching warplanes and missiles against Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. The mission was corroborated and approved by United Nations Resolution 1973, which paved the way for a multilateral effort to impose a no-fly zone and tighten weapons sanctions in Libya.

Strikes by air and sea continued for more than a week before President  Barack Obama addressed the nation about U.S.  intentions in Libya. On March 28, President Obama argued that the United States had a national interest to stop Qaddafi’s massacre: “If we waited one more day, Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte [NC], could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.”

During his speech, President Obama highlighted the accomplishments of the Libyan mission to “mobilize a broad coalition, secure an international mandate to protect civilians, stop an advancing army, prevent a massacre and establish a no-fly zone with our allies and partners.”

Taking a multilateral approach in the mission by employing a NATO-led coalition allows the U.S. to share the burden of intervention with an alliance of its closest nations rather than bear the responsibility solo. President Obama assured the American people that the U.S. would aid the opposition to the extent stipulated by UN Resoultion 1973 and preserve Libyans’ ability to accomplish regime change.  However, this resolution approved by the Security Council “makes no distinction between pro-rebel and pro-Qaddafi civilians.”

As Qaddafi’s loyalist regime remained persistent, the Obama Administration fell into “debate over whether to supply weapons to the rebels, with some fearful that providing arms would deepen American involvement in a Civil War and that some fighters may links to Al-Qaeda.”

As NATO took control over attacks in Libya, NATO warned Libyan loyalist forces that attacking Libyan citizens would result in another series of airstrikes against Colonel Qaddafi’s forces as complexity escalates both legally and militarily.

Photos courtesy of nyt.com and ap.org