Even if civil war in Libya is averted, potential for calamity remains
Libya has little of the geopolitical significance of Egypt – a pillar of the Arab world, key U.S. ally and regional powerhouse – but violent collapse in the vast, oil-rich, desert nation with its rival coastal cities raises the spectre of mass exodus and roiling instability.
Already thousands are fleeing the violence, streaming across borders into Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.
Unlike the relatively orderly ousters of repressive dictators in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt, Moammar Gadhafi’s ruthless threat to crush all dissent or achieve martyrdom signals a cataclysmic final act.