Scaring The Madman
by digby
When the Libyan operation first started I said we had to hope this thing ended quickly and it looks as though those hopes might be fulfilled:
Members of Muammar Gaddafi's entourage are putting out feelers to seek a ceasefire or safe passage from Libya, according to U.S. and European officials and a businessman close to the Libyan leadership.
Messages seeking some kind of peaceful end to U.N.-backed military action or a safe exit for members of Gaddafi's entourage have been sent via intermediaries in Austria, Britain and France, said Roger Tamraz, a Middle Eastern businessman with long experience conducting deals with the Libyan regime.
Tamraz said Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Muammar's eldest son, and Abdullah Senoussi, the Libyan leader's brother-in-law, were the most prominent Gaddafi entourage members involved in seeking ways to end the fighting.
Keep your fingers crossed that this is true. Everything is so hellish lately that I hesitate to think that the world could get this lucky, but gawd knows we're due for something.
On the other hand, the question is whether or not he can find a place to land and whether or not the west will take yes for an answer. I'm in favor of putting war criminals on trial, but in this case, I'd say it would be a better part of valor to let the madman make a deal.
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