Adm Mike Mullen told a US Congress committee Col Gaddafi's troops still had 10 times the rebels' firepower. The rebels got an ill advised burst of confidence after the airstrikes started. They advanced too far, overreached and were decimated by the government forces. Now, in retreat, they'll bleed strength and initiative every day. Ghadaffi's forces are now traveling in pickup trucks, looking exactly like the rebels. There's no way we risk bombing them now. The ROE is so strict, they won't bomb anything that's not a clearly flagged military vehicle. The security forces will continue what they were doing two weeks ago. Namely, to grind the rebels into retreat, rout and slaughter.
So, do we arm the rebels? Even the odds yet again, until we get the results we want?
The problem is, the further east you go, the more radically Islamist the natives get. By the time we decide to arm the Libyans, the center of the country will have fallen. The only rebels left will be the hard core Islamists from east of Benghazi. The ones Libya used to export to Iraq as mujahideen rather than deal with them locally. I'm sure they'd love American arms and training.
All of this exposes just how little we thought this action through.
"All of this exposes just how little we thought this action through. "
you need to remember that it's a tangled web because that's what comes 'When at first we practice to deceive/
This whole operation was not for the smoke-screened lies given.
"His" reasons have nothing to do with right or honor. It has to do with adding to the very large chunk of Africa and a HUGE stretch of Mediterranean Sea coast - and command of the Suez...to reinstate the Caliphate in it's old home -
Now that the Muslim Brotherhood is posed to take over Egypt - then add The large land of Libya - Quite a central base to expand out from, eh?