As the dust settles on the latest Libyan revolution, it will be interesting to find out how two Libyan air force jets happened to land at Malta International Airport. The official story so far is that the two Mirage jets left Libya "without official clearance" but landed in Malta "regularly" after obtaining "emergency clearance." There are many legitimate questions to be asked in the wake of this bizarre occurrence. Were the Maltese armed forces at any time free to refuse such emergency clearance? Were the jets escorted as they approached Malta's sovereign territory? The answer will inevitably be in the negative. 

The resulting feeling is one of helplessness in the face of our islands' exposure to unfolding tumultuous events in the region.