Libya - "a coalition of chickens?": France plays hawk, Germany demurs. Libya has exposed Europe's fault lines - by Timothy Garton Ash

So Europeans are from Mars and Americans are from Venus. Those "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" – the French – have led the military charge into Libya. The hamburger-munching crusader eagles have dithered in the rear.

Except that such crude stereotypes are as misleading today as they were at the time of the Iraq war. Now as then, Americans are divided – and Europeans even more so. France and Britain have led the campaign for a no-fly zone and for "all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya. Germany has demonstratively dissociated itself from them. The Obama administration initially showed almost German levels of reluctance to get involved with any form of military intervention, but shifted its position in response to Gaddafi's brutal campaign to restore his own power, the remarkable pro-intervention stance of the Arab League, and pressures from many Americans.   Among the American voices pressing for action was Robert Kagan, the neocon who popularised the original bon mot: "Americans are from Mars, Europeans are from Venus."

So far as France is concerned, we need have no illusions about the personal motives of Nicolas Sarkozy. He surely hopes that cutting a dash on the international scene will boost his ratings and give him a better chance of being re-elected next year. Decisive action in defence of Arab human rights is supposed to cover up his administration's appalling record in cosying up to Arab leaders who trampled on those rights, including Hosni Mubarak, until recently Sarkozy's co-chair of the Union for the Mediterranean, Tunisia's Zine El Abidine ben-Ali and, yes, Muammar Gaddafi.

EU-Digest: Whatever the differences within the coalition, one thing should be crystal clear to what now looks more and more like a "coalition of chickens ", that regardless of what they say or do, history will judge this coalition as to how it dealt with this despotic madman in Libya. So for the sake of the people of Libya, not withstanding the billions most of the coalition member countries have invested into sustaining this Gaddafi's  fiefdom in the past,  its high time to show some backbone and conclude the assignment properly.

For more: France plays hawk, Germany demurs. Libya has exposed Europe's fault lines | Timothy Garton Ash | Comment is free | The Guardian

Gaddafi has disappeared - is he dead ? Libyan rebels re-launch offensive while coalition aircraft continue air-strikes

Gaddafi has not been seen or heard from since Sunday and some observers on the ground in Libya are saying he has either gone to a special bunker in the desert or has he been killed in last night missile strike on his compound. In an exclusive interview with ABC News on Sunday, Saif Gadhafi, son of Col. Gadhafi, expressed surprise at the Western coalition attack launched against Libya, and said that his father has no plans to step down from power.

There are also rumors circulating that some units of the military have crossed over to the rebels and that a curfew will go into effect tonight in Tripoli.

Today Coalition forces launched fresh attacks against Moammar Gadhafi's assets in Libya today, as the symbol of the longtime dictator's resistance -- a three-story building in his personal compound -- turned into rubble after being hit by two cruise missiles late last night.

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said the United States would cede command of the military operation to allied countries as soon as possible. “We expect in a matter of days to be able to turn over the primary responsibility to others,” said Gates, who spoke to reporters on his military aircraft shortly after he departed Washington for Russia. “We will continue to support the coalition, we will be a member of the coalition, we will have a military role in the coalition, but we will not have the preeminent role.”

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