Leadership

The situation in Libya is reaching critical mass. Col. Ghadafi thumbs his nose at the United Nations resolution and continues his assaults on his own civilians while claiming to have imposed a "ceasefire". Clearly, decisive action is required quickly to prevent further atrocities. Some of the western world's leaders, including Canada, are meeting in Paris today to determine how they will deal with the situation.

Mr. Harper had arrived in Paris early Saturday morning for the summit after an overnight transatlantic flight from Ottawa, accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon and General Walt Natynczyk, the chief of the defence staff, for the one-day meeting.

The fact that PM Harper has brought with him Foreign Affairs Minister Cannon and Canadian Forces Chief General Natynczyk says that Canada is serious about participating in possible military operations. In fact a number of Canadian CF-18 fighter jets are already in the region, presumably Italy, and reports say they will be ready for action very soon. Reports this morning indicate that France already has fighter jets in the air over Libya.

While military intervention in Libya carries risks, primarily the risk of further escalation, the leaders of Britain, France, Canada and other nations are tackling the problem head-on.

All this begs the question: where is the leader of the free world?

Update: US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, "There are difficulties".

Update 2: Rex Murphy: There’s a great vacancy at the top of the world: A retreat by the American government from its global leadership role.