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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (605427)	3/28/2011 5:19:14 PM
From: Brumar89	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1587862

US is sliding into long-term military involvement in Libya DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis March 28, 2011, 12:38 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Libya US Qaddafi Robert Gates Rebel victory depends on US air strikes against Qaddafi's forces Despite protestations to the contrary, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources find the American role in the operation against Muammar Qaddafi heading only one way: Instead of a transition “in a few days” to NATO i.e. Europe - which US President Barack Obama will no doubt reiterate when he addresses the nation Tuesday, March 29 - the United States is sliding deeper day by day into a third war in a Muslim country. In the last three days, US air strikes have beaten Qaddafi’s forces into tactical retreat from all its conquests in the rebel-held eastern province of Cyrenaica. This operation rescued the rebels from the certain defeat they faced in the middle of last week, allowed them to retake the strategic oil towns of Ajdabiya, Brega and Ras Lanuf and opened the way for them to drive forward to Qaddafi’s home town of Sirte, the key to Tripoli. In the view of DEBKAfile’s military experts, the Libyan opposition’s gains are no more than a victory on paper, not the battlefield. Qaddafi and his commanders executed tactical retreats from those towns - not because they were beaten in battle but to avoid being ground down by superior US sea-based and air power. That power opened the door for the opposition rebels to recover the towns they lost in the last three weeks and pose as victors. For Washington, the implication is clear: Continuing rebel momentum against Qaddafi’s forces depends on United States commitment to two steps: 1. Keeping up the aerial and sea-based bombardment of government forces. Nothing, otherwise, will stop Qaddafi’s troops turning around and heading back east to recapture the towns they left. Containing Qaddafi’s army cannot be left to the limited capabilities of France and Britain or any other members of NATO which has assumed token command of the Libya operation. 2. Organizing the rebels into regular combat units and furnishing them with arms, funds and military instructors. The other alternative would be for the Americans to invest increasing numbers of ground forces into Libya to defend the eastern provinces against Qaddafi reasserting control. Saturday, March 26, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted, “Libya did not pose a threat to the United States before the US began its military campaign.” Asked whether ongoing developments indicated that US military involvement might continue at least until the end of the year, Gates replied: “I don’t think anybody knows the answer to that.” In other words, no one in Washington, including no doubt the president, can say with any certainty exactly where the American campaign in Libya is heading or its duration. In just a few days, the gap has widened exponentially between America’s first commitment to supporting a European-Arab operation mandated by the UN for enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya and protecting civilians plus an imminent transition of the US lead role and President Obama’s pledge not to involve ground troops – all the way over to an expanding commitment to supporting an armed revolt against the Qaddafi regime. Aware of the Obama administration’s quandary, Qaddafi offered Washington a way out. By pulling his troops out of the eastern towns, he gave the Americans a chance to chalk up a rebel victory – or at least a standoff - and leave it at that. At this stage, he would accept the loss of Cyrenaica so long as the Americans give up their assaults. However, should the Obama administration decide to persist in its active military support for the rebellion, the Libyan ruler may consider three counter-steps: One, to carry out the threat he made prior to the coalition campaign against his regime to strike back at American, British and French targets in the Middle East and Europe; Two, to activate Libyan undercover terrorist networks in Europe against US targets as well as local ones; Three, to retreat along with his family to a secret sanctuary among loyal Saharan tribes and from there to fight for his survival against both the Americans and Al Qaeda which he accuses of penetrating the opposition and turning his people against him. debka.com