Juan Cole

It happens at times that you run into issues so sticky that no matter what position you hold, you end up with dirty hands. The United Nations' intervention in Libya, led by NATO, is an instance of this phenomenon. If you support the intervention, you will be in part responsible for the casualties that come in any military battle, including the deaths and maimings of the poor sods who were coerced or drafted into Gaddafi's forces. If you reject or remain neutral about the intervention, you will share the blame for what might be the deaths of the tens of thousands of ordinary Arabs Gaddafi has promised to kill.

The intervention is well under way, of course, so the question has become, says Juan Cole, can the American Left walk and chew gum at the same time? The Left is opposed to interventions and opposed to potential genocides; does it oppose interventions in potential genocides?

The World, by and large, has spoken. Even nations openly reluctant to intervene (Russia, China, Germany) got out of the way once Gaddafi said he intended to kill many workers and middle class Arabs in Libya. Juan Cole has spoken: he won't turn his back on the working class and middle class people fighting for their lives in the streets of Libya. That's good enough for me.