West Rallies Arab Support Over Libya

The Washington Post reports:

U.S. and European diplomats moved quickly Monday to rally wavering Arab support for military intervention in Libya after key Arab officials complained that Western airstrikes appeared to exceed the narrow mandate authorized by the United Nations.

The diplomatic outreach came as the first Arab warplanes to participate in the enforcement of the U.N.-backed no-fly zone — up to six French-built Mirage 2000 fighters from Qatar — began making their way toward Libya. Qatar is the only Arab country so far to firmly commit to contributing military firepower to the enforcement effort.

The Obama administration had stressed that Arab support was a precondition for foreign military action in Libya, but apparent waffling by some Arab leaders since the start of the bombing Saturday has raised concerns in Washington and other capitals. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined British and French counterparts over the past two days in phoning Arab leaders to shore up support after Libyan officials asserted that Western airstrikes had killed dozens of civilians.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday that he had spoken with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and other Middle East leaders and was convinced that support for the no-fly zone remained firm.

“I did not detect in them any weakening of their commitment, ” Hague said in a BBC Radio interview.

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