The United Nations was poised tonight to authorise direct military strikes on Libyan targets to reverse Colonel Gaddafi’s headlong gains against rebel fighters and prevent a massacre of innocents in Benghazi.
A dramatic shift in American strategy set the stage for UN Security Council negotiations on a resolution that could lead swiftly to air strikes on Libyan tanks and artillery, potentially plunging President Obama and US forces into a new war in the Middle East.
Diplomats were confident of winning the nine votes needed to secure UN backing for “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians, as Colonel Gaddafi issued a chilling warning to the people of Benghazi. “We are coming tonight,” he said in a radio address. “There won’t be any mercy.”
At least one US navy cruise missile submarine is in the Mediterranean along with two American assault ships and three destroyers. After weeks of hesitating, US officials said Washington was ready to lead any military intervention that did not involve ground troops to safeguard civilian life.
“We are acting with a great sense of urgency to take the actions that we believe will protect Libyan civilians and move towards a situation where Gaddafi is no longer in power,” Mr Obama’s spokesman said.
In the last rebel-held stronghold in the west of Libya, civilians appealed for immediate foreign intervention after reports of air attacks and more civilians deaths. “We needed a no-fly zone today and we need strategic airstrikes,” Mohamed Benrasali, a resident of Misrata, told The Times. “If you leave us to this mad dictator then it will be a full blown civil war and Libya will descend into chaos.”
In London, David Cameron’s spokesman said negotiators at the UN were in a “race against time” to hammer out their differences and pass the resolution. It was presented to the 15-member Security Council yesterday with amendments drafted by the US specifically to allow Nato attacks on ground-based targets as well as aircraft.
“A no-fly zone alone would not accomplish the goal of protecting civilians,” said a senior UN diplomat close to the talks.
In the past two days the rout of rebels in Libya and the Arab League’s historic call for foreign intervention have brought a startling transformation in Mr Obama’s stance on Libya. After reluctantly considering a no-fly zone he is now pushing for air strikes that would go “well beyond” keeping Colonel Gaddafi’s air force on the ground.
The White House said there had been no shift in policy, but officials in New York openly admitted that the draft resolution brought to yesterday’s eight-hour UN session by Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the UN, amounted to a decisive change in US strategy.
It followed promises from at least four Arab nations on Tuesday to take part in any intervention, whether by opening their airspace, intercepting Libyan shipping or contributing strike aircraft of their own. The move was “extremely important” to the White House, where officials still insist that any action must be multilateral.
“This is not a Western action, not an American action, but an international action with the support of the governments and the people in the region,” the White House spokesman said.
As today’s UN talks stretched towards a vote expected in the evening, Downing Street warned that there was no expectation of success and “a long way to go”. But the Prime Minister’s spokesman said “we are seeing progress”, thanks in large part to the shift by the US.
China and Russia, long considered the main obstacles to a UN resolution, indicated on Wednesday that they would not exercise their veto as permanent Security Council members. Russia proposed a cease-fire in place of the American-backed plan in what was seen as a stalling measure, but diplomats were increasingly confident last night that both powers would let the resolution pass by abstaining.
The Chinese were “very concerned about what was going on on the ground,” according to one western diplomat. Germany, India, Brazil and South Africa have all expressed reservations about military action, but were not all expected to abstain.
As thousands of refugees headed east from Benghazi towards the Egyptian border last night, a senior White House official expressed gratitude for Britain’s “leadership” on Libya in recent days. The signs are that the US now wants that role for itself
