A reader writes:
The secretary of state knows as well as any reasonably well informed observer that the Arab League is subject to many conflicting pressures-- not least the fact that barring a military crackdown Moussa will soon be running for the Egyptian presidency. The significance of the original Arab endorsement of a "no fly zone" was that it cleared the way for a U.N. resolution. Today's criticism was just bet-hedging by regimes that must not only serve their outside patrons, but also large domestic constituencies hostile to any affiliation with Europe and the U.S.
But we were told there would be clear Arab cover for the war itself, not just the Resolution, and that it would include Arab militaries, precisely so as to undermine the usual anti-Western backlash my reader refers to. So far, I don't see any such thing, although Qatar is saying it will help. Everyone else seems to be keeping their head down.