And While We Look the Other Way, Qaddafi’s Butchers Slash Rebellion

Because our capacity for following "international news" is limited to exactly one thing every three months, the tragedy of the Japan Quake and Tsunami completely took America's focus away from North Africa and the Middle East -- where crucial rebellions against despots continue to rage, and where the tide may have turned against Libya's brave and lonely rebels:

Under the coldly appropriate headline, "Qaddafi's Troops Take Back Rebel Cities as Indecision Grips Western Allies," Bloomberg offers this:

Western allies planning for a possible no-fly zone over Libya may find their deliberations overtaken by events, as Muammar Qaddafi’s forces close in on the opposition’s stronghold of Benghazi with tanks, infantry and air support.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Feb. 28 that the U.S. and NATO allies were considering a no-fly zone. Since then, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the United Nations Security Council have failed to decide on taking any kind of military action. And the Arab League didn’t give its support until March 12, by which time the rebels were losing ground.

Qaddafi has taken advantage of that indecision, launching an offensive that has pushed the rebels back from town after town.

We should probably post something about Saudi Arabia sending thousands of its shock troops to Bahrain to crush the rebellion there, but we need to scrape under the couch cushions for another sixteen quarters so we can put a gallon of gas in the minivan. [ Bloomberg ]