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End Game

The decision of the UN General Council to impose a “No-fly” zone over Libya may have been agreed for all the right reasons, i.e. to stop a crazed dictator from annihilating thousands of his own people, but winning the vote in the General Council could prove easier than the achieving its aims. The Arab League who supported the resolution within hours of the first air raids pulled back from supporting the military strikes on Libya. Their Secretary General Mr Amr Moussa recoiled from what was happening stating the NATO lead action differed from the aim of imposing a No-fly zone, and further said that Arabs wanted the protection of civilians and not the bombardment and killing of more civilians. Doing nothing was never an option for the UN and the No-fly-zone had and still has broad support. But, and it is a big but, what is the end game for the West? i.e., is it protection of Libyan civilians or Regime change? The stop him or kill him question will engage both advocates and protagonists in the west and throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Gaddaffi and his regime will be defeated militarily but how it plays out in the Arab world may not be as successful as the military success.