Tunesia, Egyt and now Yemen: a domino effect in the Middle East?

I would think the big 64 thousand dollar question would be whether invasion is justified where the leader of the country defies human rights and continues to kill their own people. How long is the world community supposed to sit it out and wait?

No one is "holding back" the international community. It is and long has been indesisive and unwilling to either agree or react. It is worth remembering that this same "international community" approved Ghadaffis' government's membership in the UN Human Rights Commission.

President Obama warned Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his aides today that they will be held accountable for war crimes, and that the U.S. and NATO are considering possible responses that include potential military action.

"We've got NATO as we speak consulting in Brussels around a wide range of potential options, including potential military options, in response to the violence that continues to take place inside of Libya," Obama told reporters after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Obama did not specify any of those options -- such as the much-discussed proposal to establish a no-fly zone over Libya -- but said he wanted "to send a very clear message to those who are around Col. Gadhafi."

"It is their choice to make how they operate moving forward and they will be held accountable for whatever violence continues to take place there," Obama said.

President Obama isn't taking any options off the table with respect to Libya -- including military options -- but spokesman Jay Carney did say today that sending ground troops "is not the at the top of the list at this point."

Closer to the top: A no-fly zone over Libya and the possibility of arming Libyan rebels, though Carney said the United States wants to act in concert with allies at NATO and the United Nations.

"We are being very careful about how we go about this process," Carney said.

Carney spoke amid reports that the United States is asking Saudi Arabia to supply weapons to rebels battling the forces of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The White House spokesman did not comment on the reports, but said, "the option of providing military assistance to the rebels is on the table."

The Libyan uprising is less than a month old, Carney said, and many of the options under discussion can't be put in place overnight, including any supply of arms to rebels: "I think that it would be premature to send a bunch of weapons to a post office box in eastern Libya."

Setting up a no-fly zone is also time-consuming and complex, Carney said, adding that they might not do much good with low-flying helicopters.

"We need to not get ahead of ourselves in terms of the options we're pursuing," Carney said.

Noting that the Libyan uprising began less than a month ago, Carney praised the speed of the international community in slapping sanctions on Gadhafi's government, and in providing humanitarian assistance to Libyan rebels.


"I would simply say that the international community, with the United States in the lead, has moved with incredible rapidity to address the situation in Libya and continues to deal with this with great urgency," Carney said.

What I post may cloud the issue even more. In Egypt the protesters sexually abused a CBS female correspondent. Muslims are misogynistic. Gadhafi has promoted women rights and has a female guard regent protecting him.

They demonstrate a lack of seriousness and real intent - the actions of amateurs.

- the actions of amateurs.

Hitchens hasn't been the same since 9/11

Mocking Obama, while understandable, is not helpful.

Hitchens weighs in - calls Gaddafi an 'evil creep' and disses the entire U.S. Sixth Fleet

But the pilots of Qaddafi's own air force, who flew their planes to Malta rather than let themselves be used against civilians, have demonstrated more courage and principle than the entire U.S. Sixth Fleet.

Whatever the character of the successor system turns out to be, it can hardly be worsened if we show it positive signs of friendship and solidarity. But the pilots of Qaddafi's own air force, who flew their planes to Malta rather than let themselves be used against civilians, have demonstrated more courage and principle than the entire U.S. Sixth Fleet.