Obama slaps Libya with U.S. sanctions - Security Council meets to discuss UN sanctions
38 replies, posted
[quote=New York Times]WASHINGTON — One day after the United States closed its embassy in Tripoli and imposed unilateral sanctions against Libya, the United Nations Security Council prepared to meet in New York on Saturday to consider imposing international sanctions, including an arms embargo and an asset freeze and travel ban against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, his relatives and key members of his government.
What can the world do to keep a brutalized country from falling apart?
Ahead of the meeting, diplomats from the United States, France, Germany and Britain circulated a draft resolution that also called for the referral of the violent crackdown in Libya to the International Criminal Court to investigate possible crimes against humanity.
But Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that sanctions would do more harm to Libya’s people than to Colonel Qaddafi, the Associated Press reported. He added: “We call on the international community to act with conscience, justice, laws and universal humane values — not out of oil concerns.”
The international community was being spurred to action by Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations secretary general, who gave a dire description of the continuing violence against protesters in Libya on Friday, as well as an emotional plea from the Libyan ambassador to help his countrymen.
“Please United Nations, save Libya,” Ambassador Mohammed Shalgham told fellow diplomats in New York on Friday, as he publicly broke with the Qaddafi government. "I tell my brother Qaddafi, leave the Libyans alone."
In Washington, President Obama on Friday night issued a formal executive order freezing the American-held assets of Colonel Qaddafi, his children and family, and senior members of the Libyan government.
The announcement of the order came just minutes after a charter flight left Tripoli carrying the last Americans who wanted to leave Libya, and markedly toughened the administration’s words and actions against Colonel Qaddafi. High-ranking Libyan officials who supported or participated in his violent crackdown would also see their assets frozen and might, along with Colonel Qaddafi, be subject to war crimes prosecution, officials said.
“It’s clear that Colonel Qaddafi has lost the confidence of his people,” said the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, in a briefing that was delayed to allow the plane to take off because the Americans feared that the Libyan leader might harm the passengers. “His legitimacy has been reduced to zero.”
With Colonel Qaddafi killing more of his people every day in a desperate bid to remain in power, it was not clear that these actions would do much to mitigate the worsening crisis. Sanctions, for instance, take time to put in place, and every other option comes with its own set of complications. Colonel Qaddafi, increasingly erratic, has seemed to shrug off outside pressure, becoming even more bizarre — with charges that protesters are on drugs — in the face of the world’s scorn. And unlike with Egypt and Bahrain, close American allies that also erupted into crisis, the United States has few contacts deep inside the Libyan government, and little personal sway with its leadership.
Libya and the United States resumed full diplomatic relations only in 2008; before that it was regarded as an outlaw state. In fact, even as he was announcing that the Obama administration was cutting off military to military cooperation with the Libyan Army, Mr. Carney noted that such cooperation was “limited” — a stark contrast to the deep ties that the Pentagon has cultivated with other Arab armies.
The tougher American response came nine days into the Libyan crisis and six days after Colonel Qaddafi’s security forces first opened fire on protesters at a funeral in Benghazi, plunging Libya into something close to civil war and igniting worldwide condemnation. In the days after, the Obama administration repeatedly called for an end to the violence, but avoided criticizing Colonel Qaddafi by name — a cautious policy that brought criticism from the president’s Republican rivals.
Countering those criticisms, administration officials said they feared a hostage crisis, which tied President Obama’s hands until American citizens, diplomats and their families were evacuated from Libya. A ferry with 167 Americans left Tripoli on Friday afternoon, having been delayed for two days by 15- to 18-foot waves in the Mediterranean, and a charter plane with additional Americans left Friday night. The embassy, Mr. Carney said, “has been shuttered.”
European leaders have been more aggressive. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has called on Colonel Qaddafi to resign, a step that Mr. Obama has yet to take. But American allies and the United Nations also moved to isolate Libya diplomatically. A senior United Nations official said that the world should intervene to stop the bloodshed in Libya, and France and Britain called on the international organization to approve an arms embargo and sanctions. NATO said it was ready to help evacuate refugees.
In Geneva, the normally passive United Nations Human Rights Council voted unanimously on Friday to suspend Libya’s membership, but not before a junior delegate of the Libyan mission announced that he and his colleagues had resigned after deciding to side with the Libyan people. The gesture drew a standing ovation and a handshake from the United States ambassador, Eileen Donahoe.[/quote]About time to be honest.
[editline]26th February 2011[/editline]
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/world/africa/27diplomacy.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=13d722d7Q2FQ2BISQ24Q2BTh6yXhheUQ2BUQ3D22Q2BQ3DUQ2BUtQ2BIhXQ3ATQ2B0WXu60Q2BUtTuDQ3Ah(06EQ7DRe(Q3A[/url]
About time someone took action, the government down there has [b] completely[/b] lost it.
why are you a mod
lmao @ starpluck not @ article
UN sanction? Fat lot of good that will do.
This is good but somewhat redundant, he's a moronic homicidal genocidal dictator, he's not going to care or take any notice.
About friggin time...
Great news, but considering Qaddafi has consistently blamed foreign influence for all the violence, this may only strengthen his resolve.
More angry letters? Why not throw a brick at them at the very least? Sanctions does nothing if the nation there don't give a fuck about it.
Tell me, what does sanction really do to you?
sanctions killed my family they are not to be laughed at!!!!
WWIII?
Naaah.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;28299790]UN sanction? Fat lot of good that will do.[/QUOTE]
Yes, because everything has to happen overnight for it to be effective.
Sanctions can seriously fuck up a modern country with lots of economic ties all across the globe.
i think the more important issue at hand is when did starpluck get mod
What do you want? Military intervention? Sounds great, it's been so popular in the past
[QUOTE=Raiskauskone V2;28300228]Yes, because everything has to happen overnight for it to be effective.
Sanctions can seriously fuck up a modern country with lots of economic ties all across the globe.[/QUOTE]
because all those angry letters written too Israel have totally made them stop what they've been doing and has put 3 rainbows over the country since.
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;28300439]because all those angry letters written too Israel have totally made them stop what they've been doing and has put 3 rainbows over the country since.[/QUOTE]
Israel won't seriously change unless the US changes it's foreign policy.
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;28300439]because all those angry letters written too Israel have totally made them stop what they've been doing and has put 3 rainbows over the country since.[/QUOTE]
Raiskauskone V2 was talking about sanctions, not condemnations. Israel will never get sanctioned as long as the U.S. can veto.
I hate to say it but I gotta agree with the Republicans/most everyone else here, why the hell hasn't Obama taken a stronger and more clear stance on this?
Why are you mod. This came without warning.
[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304601]I hate to say it but I gotta agree with the Republicans/most everyone else here, why the hell hasn't Obama taken a stronger and more clear stance on this?[/QUOTE]
There are thousands of Americans in Libya.
[editline]26th February 2011[/editline]
or so I'm told.
Took them long enough, not that sanctions will effect anything.
[QUOTE=Habsburg;28304879]There are thousands of Americans in Libya.
[editline]26th February 2011[/editline]
or so I'm told.[/QUOTE]
A large amount have been evacuated, and the ones that haven't are probably matched in numbers by French and English and other countries taking a harsher stance on this.
[QUOTE=Raiskauskone V2;28300228]Yes, because everything has to happen overnight for it to be effective.
Sanctions can seriously fuck up a modern country with lots of economic ties all across the globe.[/QUOTE]
I don't think that a country in the middle of a civil war will give a shit about sanctions.
What are you moderator of? In The News?
Also, Libya should have been sanctioned a long time ago.
[QUOTE=Raiskauskone V2;28300228]Yes, because everything has to happen overnight for it to be effective.
Sanctions can seriously fuck up a modern country with lots of economic ties all across the globe.[/QUOTE]
Which is probably the reason you do not want to put sanctions on a country like Libya. All they will do is fuck up the country in the long term and not stop the violence. Gaddafi is quite clearly insane and is going to stay in power till someone removes him.
[QUOTE=Xen Tricks;28304923]A large amount have been evacuated, and the ones that haven't are probably matched in numbers by French and English and other countries taking a harsher stance on this.[/QUOTE]
Oh I don't know then maybe it's about the oil.
Is this really going to stop Ghadaffi from murdering everyone who so much as sneezes without his approval?
Sanctions can't do shit. US needs to do their annoying world police military shit they are known for. For good this time and not for the oil.
Also, Starpluck, did you get mod because yrraG needed new mods after he cleansed out nearly the entire moderator team?
[QUOTE=Habsburg;28310037]Oh I don't know then maybe it's about the oil.[/QUOTE]
We're not gonna be getting oil one way or another from a country in turmoil so we might as well do the right thing. I agree with the above poster, US (and other countries) need to actually be literal world police and try and bring Gaddafi and his cronies in for international charges.
[QUOTE=bobste;28299774]why are you a mod[/QUOTE]
because starpluck is cool
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.