The allied governments don’t seem to have a common view on what the objectives in Libya might be, and the strategy seems to be one of supporting anti-Gaddafi forces in their plodding war with Tripoli. Does it matter that this amounts to dragging out the war? Shouldn’t we just be patient?
Paul Pillar writing in The National Interest points out why this is a perilous strategy. We might think, “What’s the big deal, all the fighting is in Libya?” But Pillar notes that Gaddafi is a master at asymmetrical warfare, meaning he knows how to strike using terrorism against more powerful enemies. He did it in 1986 when he bombed a Disco in Berlin, Germany, and in 1988 with the Pan Am jet that blew up over Lockerbie. Up until a few weeks ago, the west and Gaddafi had an agreement on a broad range of counterterrorism proposals. These included sharing information on radical islamist groups and Gaddafi’s promise that he wouldn’t support terrorist groups again. I think we can assume that all bets are off right now.
By attacking Libya we have hit the hornet’s nest with a baseball bat. This is not a time for slow, methodical progress. Time is on Gaddafi’s side. The longer he hangs in there, the more likely we will become the target of his terrorist attacks.