Things you should know, take one...

Is Misrata the new Sarajevo?
If so, then we should already be ashamed of ourselves.
How many times can the civilized world make the same mistake?
That it is a chillingly dangerous place, furthermore,  was made abundantly clear yesterday for those not paying attention...
Two prominent and intrepid war photographers, Tim Hetheington and Chris Hondros were killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack instigated by pro-Gaddafi forces, according to the BBC.
Xan Rice, of The Guardian, manages to convey the current horrendous conditions in Misrata...
To date, some 1,000 have been killed, 90% of which are civilians, the journalist reports...
President Obama yesterday authorized US forces to use drones  in order to enhance NATO's camapaign to protect Libyan civilians...
Some, including Glenn Greenwald, construed this move as an escalation of the war in Libya.
As the war in Libya escalates on a seemingly weekly basis,  I think it's time for another urgent speech about how imperative it is we all tighten our belts. It's also probably time for another Nobel Peace Prize (and yes, I know: these drone attacks are designed to bring about peace-because War, as we know, is Peace),  he wrote in his blog...

Al Jazeera reported the following today:Predator drones have routinely been flying surveillance missions in Libya, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said at a Pentagon briefing on Thursday.

He said the US will provide up to two 24-hour combat air patrols each day by the unmanned Predators.

Is the introduction of two drones an escalation?

In essence, what is the welfare of the people of Misrata and Libya worth?

Is it our problem, and if so, how far should we go?

As Chirac said in 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq, war is always the worse solution...

Yet, after Bosnia, Srebrenica and Rwanda, can we simply remain on the sidelines and watch a ruthless thug resort to heavy weaponry and cluster bombs in order to submit a people that is courageously fighting for its freedom and dignity? 
(the photograph above of a Libyan revolutionary on the front line in Misrata is by Chris Hondros)