As Libya continues to wait for the Leader of the Free World, US President Barack Hussein Obama, to make a public statement about the crisis in their country, his Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, spoke for the Administration yesterday, in a tersely-worded e-mail:

The world is watching the situation in Libya with alarm. We join the international community in strongly condemning the violence in Libya.

Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed. Our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been lost, and with their loved ones.

The government of Libya has a responsibility to respect the universal rights of the people, including the right to free expression and assembly.

Thanks, Madame Secretary.  That should make a difference.  Sheesh.

It appears that everybody is deserting Kadhafi. The spiritual leader of the Muslim Brother (You remember them, that secular organization), Yusuf al-Qaradawi, put out a fatwa calling for Libyan soldier who can, to shoot Kadhafi in order “to rid Libya of him.”

The Egyptian-born cleric, usually based in Qatar, told Al-Jazeera television:

Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Kadhafi should do so.

This leader of “the religion of peace” also told Libyan soldiers “not to obey orders to strike at your own people,”.   He then urged Libyan ambassadors around the world to dissociate themselves from Kadhafi’s regime.

This is not just any nutjob. He’s a celebrity in the Middle East for his controversial fatwas, or religious edicts. Qaradawi, in his 80s, hosts religious broadcasts on Al-Jazeera.

In the past, he has defended “violence carried out by certain Muslims.”

Because he has supported “terrorism” by sanctioning Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel, Britain and the United States will not grant him entry visas.

The Muslim religious leader, known as the spiritual leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and a longtime resident of Qatar, is the head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars.

And were was the fearless leader of Libya?

Yesterday, Kadhafi appeared on state-run television, sitting in a car, wearing a hat with ear flaps, holding an umbrella.  He claimed that he had not fled Libya after protesters overran several cities and his 40 year rule appeared to be collapsing.

He said:

I am going to meet with the youth in Green Square.

It’s just to prove that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela and to deny television reports, those dogs.

Kadhafi  was trying to squelch rumors that he had fled to Venezuela.

After days of violence, the apparent revolution had come to Tripoli, where protesters attacked police stations and the offices of Kadhafi’s state-run television, setting government buildings ablaze.

There were reports of massacres in the streets by Kadhafi’s military and African mercenaries, hired by Kadhafi.

One resident of east Tripoli said by phone:

It’s definitely the end of the regime. This has never happened in Libya before. We are praying that it ends quickly.

While all of this was going on, two Libyan fighter pilots, both colonels, got the heck outta Dodge, flying their single-seater Mirage F1 jets to Malta. They sought asylum, claiming that they had been ordered to attack protesters in Benghazi.

Italy put all military air bases on maximum alert after the fighters landed.

Human rights groups are putting the death toll at between over 200 to some 400 people, so far.

The effect on America’s economy will be immediate.

Libya is the world’s 18th largest oil producer, pumping out around 1.8 million barrels a day, or a little under 2 percent of the world’s daily output. Kadhafi’s regime sits atop the biggest oil reserves in the whole of Africa.

In response to the Libyan situation, oil prices surged. Benchmark crude for March delivery was up $7.88 a barrel, or 9.1 percent, to $94.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

With the oil price rising so rapidly, will it be any surprise if stocks are inevitably under severe pressure?

Rising crude prices are the biggest problem for investors because they reinforce fears of inflation and raw materials costs. They also can cause a big drop in global demand levels, as experienced in previous oil price shocks in 1973-4, 1979 and 2008.

Wow, it’s a good thing we have all these oil fields ready for production in our own country.  Oh, wait…

So, as the seeds of revolution continue to be sown in the Middle East, America and their allies are looking to the Leader of the greatest country in the world to say something, to offer hope, and to take a principled stand.

So far, all we’ve heard are **crickets**.