And how far else are we willing to go, if the point is to persuade the Libyan leadership that the cost of standing by Qaddafi is too high?

Arab diplomats pointed out that Colonel Qaddafi has long proven adept at exploiting the seemingly chaotic divisions beneath him in the Libyan leadership.

On Aug. 11 President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had met with the Libyan leadership.

The Libyan leadership will be "held to account" for crimes against its people, he added.

Do you think he or others in the Libyan leadership should be offered asylum?

"An operation of this magnitude, involving people so close to the Libyan leadership, could only have been undertaken with the approval of senior Libyan officials."

Following this, the Libyan leadership informed the ambassadors of the United States and Britain that it was terminating the respective agreements.

This led to discontent and unrest among the population against the political and economic innovations of the Libyan leadership.

The new Libyan leadership would find it hard to resist pressure from an international community that has just delivered it to power.

As Libya has followed through on its pledges, the United States has gradually lifted sanctions and stepped up contacts with the Libyan leadership.