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
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 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.
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.
I think the RAF base at Akrotiri on Cyprus would be more likely.
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.