Well, that didn’t take long

The Arab league supported implementing a no-fly zone in Libya just up until the moment someone implemented it.

The United States was not going to play a leading role in implementing the no-fly zone just up until the moment someone implemented it.

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it’s going to end? Look, I have no problem if outsiders want to intervene in Libya, I just wish that the (US-trained and US-armed) militaries in the region were taking more of a role here. Is that really too much to ask? (Go Qatar! Four whole planes? Wow, thanks for the support!) At a minimum, if the Arab League is not going to help enforce the no fly zone they say they support, is it too much to ask for them to keep there mouths shut when someone takes them up on their offer?

The main reason I am against the US taking an active role in enforcing the no fly zone without active support from Arab governments is because I don’t want the blame to fall on the US government if the whole operation goes pear-shaped. I really don’t want to be having a conversation a year from now about how Gaddafi wasn’t any worse than Dictator X and the only reason the US is in Libya is for the oil.