The Arab allies trickle in
British Prime Minister David Cameron says that Jordan and Kuwait are now joining the mission in Libya: “We will be getting logistic contributions from countries like Kuwait and also Jordan. I hope further support will be forthcoming,” Cameron told lawmakers when asked about the level of Arab support. He did not give any further details ...
British Prime Minister David Cameron says that Jordan and Kuwait are now joining the mission in Libya:
British Prime Minister David Cameron says that Jordan and Kuwait are now joining the mission in Libya:
“We will be getting logistic contributions from countries like Kuwait and also Jordan. I hope further support will be forthcoming,” Cameron told lawmakers when asked about the level of Arab support.
He did not give any further details about the Kuwaiti and Jordanian contributions.
Cameron said there was “very strong” support in the Arab world for military action authorised by a UN Security Council resolution to prevent Moamer Kadhafi’s forces killing Libyan civilians. But he added that the speed with which Western nations launched air strikes to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and help rebel forces made it more difficult to get Arab nations on board.
“Because we had to act so quickly on Saturday it wasn’t possible to bring forward as much Arab support as perhaps would have been welcomed. But the clear support is there,” Cameron said.
Given the emphasis put on the participation the Arab League in the run-up to his operation, the response has been a little underwhelming. Two Qatari fighters and unspecified "logistical support" from Jordan and Kuwait doesn’t quite seem to constitute the "important role" requested in the U.N. Security Council’s resolution.
I explore the text of the resolution a bit more in this week’s explainer, particularly the vagueness of who exactly is participating. If taken to its logical conclusion, the UNSCR would seem to allow pretty much anyone to run sorties over Benghazi this week.
Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating
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