Intervention is solely to protect civilians
THE international military intervention in Libya is not about bombing for democracy or for Muammar Gaddafi’s head — let alone keeping oil prices down or profits up. Legally, morally, politically, and militarily, it has only one justification: protecting Libyans from the kind of murderous harm that Gaddafi inflicted on unarmed protestors four weeks ago, has continued to inflict on those who oppose him in the areas that his forces control, and has promised to inflict on his opponents in Benghazi and other rebel-held areas.
When that job is done, the military’s job will be done. Regime change is for the Libyan people themselves to achieve.
