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Qatar is first Arab state to join anti-Gaddafi coalition
by BLOOMBERG
Updated 09:46 PM Mar 20, 2011
ABU DHABI — Middle Eastern leaders backed an offensive by international forces seeking to protect Libyan civilians as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi said his country would become hell for the "monsters" attacking it.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Al Thani said the emirate will join the United States, Britain, Canada, France and Italy against Libya, making it the first Arab country to commit military forces. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Arab participation in talks in Paris yesterday "extraordinarily important" and said more can be expected from Middle East states.

"Patrolling the skies from afar is fine but they must not enter the country," Mr Osama Lamloum, 58, a sales manager, said in Cairo today. "How can someone bomb civilians? Enough bloodshed!"

Libya was pummelled yesterday by more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the first phase of an assault dubbed "Operation Odyssey Dawn." The coalition struck after European, US and Arab officials gathered in Paris yesterday to discuss the crisis. Leaders from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar and Morocco participated in yesterday’s talks.

The Libyan revolt seeking an end to the four-decade rule of Col Gaddafi is the bloodiest of popular uprisings in the Middle East this year that have toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. Anti-government demonstrations continue in Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Algeria, Iran, Iraq and Oman, with protesters calling for democracy and improved living standards.

"The Arab people will see this as justified as it will hopefully lead to a more liberated, emancipated Libya," said Prof Abdulkhaleq Abdullah at the United Arab Emirates University in Abu Dhabi. "Arab governments should support this action provided that it’s limited and there are no ulterior motives behind it or imperial or colonial intentions."

US President Barack Obama said that American involvement would not include ground troops and, after helping at the onset, the US would leave enforcement of the no-fly zone to allies, including Arab nations.

The coalition offensive against Libya has been greeted with widespread support across the region, in contrast to regional reaction following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which sparked mass demonstrations and anti-American sentiments across the Middle East.

"Iraq was an occupation based on faulty information," said Mr Theodore Karasik, director of the Institute of Near East and Gulf Analaysis in Dubai. "For Libya, the information is right there before their eyes as they watch television so nobody doubts the validity of this response. It’s game over for Gaddafi."

Arab officials attending the Paris summit yesterday included Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri and Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Al Thani.

Jordan will not take part in the UN-backed measures to impose a no-fly zone, the Jordan Times reported today, citing Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. No one was immediately available at the UAE Foreign Ministry when contacted by Bloomberg.

Iraq will not participate in any military operations in Libya and does "not support unilateral action", Iraqi State Minister Ali Al Dabbagh said. "We support actions carried out under United Nations resolutions to stop the violence against the Libyan people."

"What the international community is doing in Libya now is a positive thing in terms of protecting these civilians," Mr Rabie Abdel Ati, a senior official of Sudanese President Umar Al Bashir’s National Congress Party and adviser to the Information Minister, said today. "It is not acceptable that the whole population gets murdered for one person to remain in power."

BLOOMBERG

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