The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) is meeting March 17 to discuss a resolution introduced by Lebanon and composed by France and the United Kingdom that calls for a military intervention against government troops in Libya. French Ambassador to the U.N. Gerard Araud has demanded that the UNSC vote on the resolution by 6 p.m. eastern. According to the media reports resolution would call for "all necessary measures short of an occupation force" to protect civilians under attack by the government troops loyal to the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The Europeans, however, are not showing a united front on the issue. Italy, which has the most energy investments in Libya and derives the greatest proportion of its energy from Libyan oil and natural gas, has hedged its bets toward Tripoli throughout the crisis. It is now faced with the prospect of Gadhafi returning firmly in power and has backed off from even its initial statement that it would allow its territory — but not military — to be used to enforce the no-fly zone. Germany, faced with three important state elections in the next 10 days, is backing off for largely domestic reasons. France and the United Kingdom, however, have little to lose by being forceful on Libya — their energy assets in Libya are nowhere near as productive and crucial for their energy companies as for Italy — in fact, both benefit domestically by seeking to lead on the crisis.
However, it is unlikely that either the USNC or NATO countries will unanimously support operations. This means that if they decide to go ahead with airstrikes, France, the United States and the United Kingdom would go alone. This is at this moment an unlikely scenario considering that the United States is still embroiled in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and with France facing European disunity on the issue.
The Europeans, however, are not showing a united front on the issue. Italy, which has the most energy investments in Libya and derives the greatest proportion of its energy from Libyan oil and natural gas, has hedged its bets toward Tripoli throughout the crisis. It is now faced with the prospect of Gadhafi returning firmly in power and has backed off from even its initial statement that it would allow its territory — but not military — to be used to enforce the no-fly zone. Germany, faced with three important state elections in the next 10 days, is backing off for largely domestic reasons. France and the United Kingdom, however, have little to lose by being forceful on Libya — their energy assets in Libya are nowhere near as productive and crucial for their energy companies as for Italy — in fact, both benefit domestically by seeking to lead on the crisis.
However, it is unlikely that either the USNC or NATO countries will unanimously support operations. This means that if they decide to go ahead with airstrikes, France, the United States and the United Kingdom would go alone. This is at this moment an unlikely scenario considering that the United States is still embroiled in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and with France facing European disunity on the issue.
