# Canadians. Re: Libya/ No fly zone/ Could Harper pull it off ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 5, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536 "2011-03-05T00:05:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/21 "2011-03-05T23:01:43Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Aren’t acts of war pretty much always unilateral? That is why the UN has to sanction it. But the Axis in WW2 was a group action. NATO action would automatically involve a lot of nations. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/22 "2011-03-06T02:54:04Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > That is why the UN has to sanction it. But the Axis in WW2 was a group action. NATO action would automatically involve a lot of nations. Yes, but the US could probably act unilaterally, striking from carriers in the Med. Likewise the UK from Gibraltar or Italy from Sicily, or France from its Med. coast. It probably would be a good idea politically to get international approval, but there are a bunch of countries that wouldn’t need it ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/23 "2011-03-06T03:11:09Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Yes, but the US could probably act unilaterally, striking from carriers in the Med. It seems to me that when the US bombed Libya back in 1986 they used F-111s based somewhere in Europe, Germany I think, and needed some permission from France or Italy to flyover them to pursue an aggressive act. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/24 "2011-03-06T04:06:03Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Yes, but the US could probably act unilaterally, striking from carriers in the Med. Likewise the UK from Gibraltar or Italy from Sicily, or France from its Med. coast. It probably would be a good idea politically to get international approval, but there are a bunch of countries that wouldn’t need it The Uk from Gibraltar or France from the Mediterranean coast? I doubt it. You need to monitor the skies, and be able to react quickly. That would require survey stations and airfields close by, and probably regular air patrols. I guess some carriers would be more adapted. A probably easier alternative would be bombing the Libyan airfields. But obviously it’s an even more blatant act of war. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/25 "2011-03-06T04:08:48Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > It seems to me that when the US bombed Libya back in 1986 they used F-111s based somewhere in Europe, Germany I think, and needed some permission from France or Italy to flyover them to pursue an aggressive act. The American bombers were based in the UK. And they wanted permission from France or Spain, denied in both cases. And this was indeed a bombing. Not a no-fly enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/26 "2011-03-06T17:36:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Yes, but the US could probably act unilaterally, striking from carriers in the Med. Likewise the UK from Gibraltar or Italy from Sicily, or France from its Med. coast. It probably would be a good idea politically to get international approval, but there are a bunch of countries that wouldn’t need it I think the RAF base at Akrotiri on Cyprus would be more likely. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536/27 "2011-03-06T18:56:22Z")
I’d say there’s zero enthusiasm here for such an idea. We’ve collected enough flak for doing Iraq & AF; we don’t really need more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadians-re-libya-no-fly-zone-could-harper-pull-it-off/573536.md?page=1)