The 15-nation council unanimously approved a resolution terminating the U.N. mandate, which set the no-fly zone over Libya and permitted foreign military forces, including NATO, to use "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians.
Well, authorization ends at the end of the month. All the new Libyan government has to do is avoid killing enough people before then to avoid triggering an intervention to protect civilians from the new government. God willing and the crick don't rise, NATO won't have to restart the war to "level the playing field," as Secretary Clinton so infamously put it.
Starting in November, we can veto any UN resolution to protect civilians from the new Libyan government, avoiding an international faux pas.
UPDATE: No worries. NATO is urging restraint:
NATO decided Friday to end its mission in Libya on October 31, declaring it fulfilled its "historic mandate" to protect civilians as it urged the new regime to build a democracy based on human rights.
Well, as long as we're "urging" them.
