Havel espouses Western military involvement in Libya

Former President Václav Havel says that Western-led military intervention may be needed if civil war continues in Libya. In an interview for the daily Hospodářské noviny Mr Havel compared the situation to that of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, where he said the West waited for four years in the face of growing horrors before getting involved militarily. Muammar Gaddafi, he said, has proven to not be the eccentric fool the world had taken him for, but an insane criminal. Mr Havel said that such intervention could be handled in various ways, from aiding insurgents to a targeted attack on Gaddafi. President Klaus was quick to differ with his predecessor, saying that he no more agreed with such a view than he had with Mr Havel’s support for bombing Belgrade in 1999.