Slaughtering his own people and mocking the world’s pleas for peace, Libya’s Moammar Khadafy can only be stopped by force. President Obama is comfortable using Predator drone strikes to kill terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan; why not do the same with Khadafy?
So far, the only air-power option on the table is establishing a “no-fly zone.” But seeking UN Security Council approval for that risks a veto by China or Russia. Even if we ignored the UN, we’d need to use NATO facilities to make the zone work — and that means getting the approval of NATO’s members. The Turkish prime minister has said he would oppose such a move.
A no-fly zone also creates political problems for Obama. He came to power promising to end two wars, not to start a new one. “Let’s just call a spade a spade,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. “A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya.”
There are practical problems, too. Pilots patrolling a no-fly zone would be targeted by Libya’s surface-to-air missiles and radar-guided anti-aircraft guns; death or capture is a real possiblity.
Collateral damage to civilians is likely — and friendly fire is a real risk. On April 14, 1994, two US helicopters were mistakenly shot down over Iraq by US planes, killing 26.
Besides, no-fly zones only stop air attacks, they don’t stop violence on the ground, as our “no-fly zone” experience in Bosnia shows. A single Predator strike could stop the civil war and save lives on the ground.
Doing nothing beyond sanctions and speeches is a rotten option. Libya is quickly becoming a humanitarian disaster. More than 100,000 foreigners have fled, while hundreds of Libyans have been killed by Khadafy’s mercenaries and his airstrikes. The death toll will only climb.
No wonder rebels are begging for foreign intervention; they fear a slaughter on the scale of the Rwandan or Algerian civil wars.
Libya’s collapse could cause real problems in Europe. European Union officials privately estimate that the EU will see 250,000 refugees from Libya in the coming months. And some of Libya’s most vicious killers may be hiding among those refugees.
This brings us back to the Predator option. It doesn’t require a carrier to launch and, if the unmanned drone is shot down, it doesn’t start a hostage crisis. It has proven effective over both urban and desert terrain. Its ability to linger over a target for hours is another unique advantage: Its sensors have time to locate Khadafy while minimizing collateral damage.
Yes, there are legal issues: The president might have to suspend an executive order that bars the assassination of foreign heads of state. But he can do so with the stroke of a pen.
Asked his greatest regret as president, Bill Clinton once answered that he wished he’d done more to save lives in Rwanda. Bombing Rwanda’s central radio transmitter, from which the murderers coordinated their attacks, would have spared many civilians.
Does Obama want to live with a similar regret, knowing that a single strike — decapitating the deadly Libyan regime — could end a tyranny and save lives?
Richard Miniter, a best-selling author, is a senior editor at the Hudson Institute.