Supplying weapons is dangerous

It would be extremely risky for the international community to arm the Libyan rebels, writes the liberal daily The Independent: "Certainly the thinking of Britain, France and the US appears to have shifted, as the pro-Gaddafi forces have counter-attacked. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, now suggests that UN Security Council resolution 1973 might have trumped the arms embargo currently in force, and David Cameron is refusing to rule out supplying weapons. Such a change, however, would be risky in the extreme. ... An express decision to supply arms to the opposition, however, would have two effects: in the short term, it would end any coalition claim to be neutral; in the longer term, there is the example of Afghanistan, where US weapons supplied to the anti-Soviet mujahedin are now being used against American forces by the Taliban."

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