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Libya is one of several North African and Middle Eastern countries experiencing political unrest. Tunisia, a small African country that borders Libya, sparked a regional democratic movement by ousting its president after weeks of peaceful protest. Egypt, a much more influential country in the region, followed with a successful revolution, but leaders in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain have refused to step aside and instead are cracking down violently on protestors.
What is a 'no-fly zone'?
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Two of the six Danish F16 fighter jets based in Italian military airport of Sigonella, southern Italy, land at the base after a mission of the international air campaign against Moamer Kadhafi's forces on March 21, 2011. AFP PHOTO/MARIO LAPORTA (Photo credit should read MARIO LAPORTA/AFP/Getty Images) |
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A no-fly zone is a territory over which an aircraft is not permitted to fly. In this case, the United States, France, Britain and other U.N. allies are patrolling the skies over Libya and using missiles to target Gadhafi's ability to wage war against Libyans who have revolted against him in the eastern part of the country.
The strategy is similar to the one used in Iraq in the early 1990s, when there was an on-going conflict in northern Iraq between the government and the Kurdish people. To prevent the possible bombing and chemical attacks against the Kurds by Saddam Hussein's regime, the United States, Britain, France, Turkey and other countries established a no-fly zone through the U.N.
There are several areas off limits to airplanes in the United States, including government buildings in Washington, D.C., such as the White House and Capitol building, as well as Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., and Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida.
‘Operation Odyssey Dawn’ aims to isolate Gadhafi
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President Obama is briefed on the situation in Libya with Chief of Staff Bill Daley, left, and National Security Adviser Tom Donilon while in Brazil Sunday. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images.) |
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Operation Odyssey Dawn is the code name for the international intervention in Libya. After a week of tense negotiations, the 15-country U.N. Security Council voted to authorize military action. But many countries are uncomfortable interfering in a country's internal affairs as well as have economic ties to Libya, which produces 2 percent of the world's oil exports.
President Obama has let France and England take the lead on the military action, recognizing that Americans are already war weary from almost a decade of fighting in Afghanistan and seven years in Iraq.
Gadhafi is vowing to fight on, however, stating, “We promise you a long war.”
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Joplin was able to rise from the ashes because of help from everyone. And I am eternally grateful to anyone who made that possible.
