Today's item...

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/2...-as-libya.html

U.S. moves ships, aircraft as Libya fighting rages

Moammar Gadhafi came under intensified international pressure Monday to halt attacks on anti-regime protesters, with the Pentagon dispatching ships and aircraft to the Mediterranean Sea and the Treasury Department freezing a record $30 billion in assets tied to the embattled dictator and his family...

...Pentagon spokesmen didn't detail the purpose of the U.S. ship and aircraft movements, but the moves didn't appear to signal direct U.S. military intervention in Libya. Among the ships being sent, reports said, is the USS Kearsarge, which carries nearly 2,000 Marines and dozens of helicopters.

"We have planners working and various contingency plans and I think it's safe to say as part of that we're repositioning forces to be able to provide for that flexibility once decisions are made," said Marine Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman...

..."No foreign intervention. We don't want to be like Iraq," said Ahmed Sukaya Pobaee, a lieutenant in the new anti-Gadhafi army.
I'm actually intrigued by the general lack of discussion on the Libyan situation here... as opposed, to, say, the Egyptian revolt at its peak.

I would not want to see US ground forces involved, but a no-fly zone seems reasonable, and it does seem that if at some point a specific concentration of pro-regime forces could be identified, a cruise missile in time (channeling JMA here, I know) might have a real impact on the calculations of others.

It might also be possible to offer air support to rebel forces in Zawiyah and Misurata, or to declare that government forces moving toward those locations would be subject to attack.

Might also be worth considering making a blanket offer to the mercenaries: anyone who jumps ship now gets a ride home and a little packet of cash. It must be crossing some mercenary minds about now that if the regime goes down the neighborhood would likely become extremely unhealthy for them. The big man presumably has a jet waiting to take him to some undisclosed location where he has substantial assets in place, but there would not be room for the boys on the street and the populace might be a wee bit hostile.

I have some doubts over the impact of sanctions in a case like this.