on the sometimes uncertainty of things legal. Posting below some more media stuff - two general background pieces by Reuters; and one WT piece that gave me pause.

I suppose the legal fallback is a renewed UN mandate - last year's was near the last minute (18 Dec 2007). However, this year's situation smells different - e.g., the OP article in this thread suggests that military considerations are more involved here than legal niceties.

As you say, we shall see.