The intentional misreading of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's violent, though predictable, Operation Odyssey in Libya last year. Not only did the action cost many thousands of lives and untold destruction; it also paved the way for perpetual conflict — not only in Libya, but throughout the North African region.
Mali was the first major victim of NATO's intervention in Libya. It is now a staple in world news, and headlines such as "The Mess in Mali" serve as a mere reminder of a bigger "African mess."
On March 17, 2011, resolution 1973 resolved to establish a no-fly zone over Libya. On March 19, NATO's bombers began scorching Libyan land, supposedly to prevent a massacre of civilians. The next day, an ad-hoc High Level African Union Panel on Libya met in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, and made one last desperate call to bring NATO's war to an immediate halt. It stated: "Our desire is that Libya's unity and territorial integrity be respected as well as the rejection of any kind of foreign military intervention."