Fox News is reporting that the United States is pulling out of the No-Fly Zone enforcement in Libya.
The hope is that NATO will take the primary responsibility, however the direction of the whole mission continues to be in question. The President has suggested that Qadaffi must go while at the same time insisting that his removal is not the aim of our mission.
The President’s unclear leadership style has caused consternation among the other nations that have traditionally looked to us for clarity on issues like the one that we are facing in Libya.
While we can go through the litany of things that we should have done, the reality is that we are faced with the consequences of what has already been done. As it stands now, if Qadaffi retains power after this is all said and done, he will frame this as a victory in which he turned back the “crusading” invaders from Libya’s shores. While this would obviously be an exaggeration on his part, Qadaffi has never had a problem with exaggeration.
Likewise, if the rebels win and an Islamist government is installed, we should prepare for the possibility of an extended conflict. Ironically, we could be combating the very people that we help to install.
While it seems that the President is trying to hand off power to NATO, the reality is that the U.S maintains significant leadership within that alliance. This war; excuse me, “kinetic military action,” could prove to be only the beginning.
