Arabs wonder: "Why Libya and why not Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia or Egypt? "

(Mc.Clatchy's)— ... Arabs are watching the strikes against Moammar Gadhafi's regime with a blend of relief for the help to outgunned rebels, trepidation about ulterior motives of Western intervention, and envy in volatile countries where calls for international backup have gone unheeded.... The confusion over what a no-fly zone entails persisted among ordinary Arabs, too, as Libyan state television reported at least 48 civilian casualties, a figure that couldn't be independently verified.

"My whole generation grew up with Desert Fox in '98 all the way up to the Iraq war, and then the Israeli occupation as well, so that tends to feed into a desire not to see Western political or military intervention," said Heba Morayef, of the Cairo office of Human Rights Watch. "In the case of Libya, however, it's more complicated."...

The tiny Persian Gulf states of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates reportedly are taking part in the Libya campaign. In contrast, Gulf countries are silent or complicit in attacks on protesters in Bahrain and Yemen, where dozens have died in the past week. Saudi Arabia sent 1,000 troops to help defend the Bahraini government, and there's little uproar over Yemen's vicious campaign against rebels.... Others noted bitterly that the U.S. and Western powers haven't stepped in to support other popular revolts in the Arab world, and some wondered whether protecting Libya's massive oil resources was the real reason for the military campaign. "Why Libya and why not Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia or Egypt?"..."