UN or not UN?

The garbled horror stories just keep on rolling out of Libya. According to the latest reports, Gaddafi’s troops have attacked the rebels in Zawiyah with redoubled violence and force. Aircraft, tanks, bombs, mortars – all have been used against the city and its people, with what one assumes are bloody results. As one resident puts it to Reuters, “Zawiyah as you knew it no longer exists.” It is unclear whether the rebels have now lost control there, but that is a strong possibility.

Unsurprising, then, that the West is positioning itself to act. David Cameron, we are told, has been speaking with Barack Obama about the full spread of options before them. Britain and France have just about reached the spellchecking stage on their draft UN resolution calling for a no-fly zone. And, in interviews last night, Hillary Clinton mooted the possibility of restricted airspace over Libya, but with the proviso that, “We think it is important that the United Nations make that decision.