Libya : The way out of the crisis is more expensive

By African Bulletin on June 20, 2011

The NATO military intervention in Libya could not be a blitzkrieg.

It is likely going to take more time and will cost more to the various antagonists engaged, politically, militarily and especially financially. The international community thinks that the issue of the crisis depends on Gaddafi’s will   and his regime to drop the violence, and free the way to the Libyans to decide by themselves, as are doing the Tunisians and Egyptians. Unfortunately, Libya is different from its neighbors. The regime is more repressive and there is no loyalty to the country, but only allegiance to the family and the tribe. It is reported that Gaddafi is holding up people and part of the country under fear and terror that have become a strategy. Gadhafi is using civilians as human shields to protect the military targets. Loyalist forces dropped uniforms and mingled with the population, hiding in mosques and hospitals. Today the NATO coalition is engaged in a psychological war against a so called regular army that turned in a guerrilla warfare, forcing the coalition to demonstrate achievement not only by the  introduction of helicopters that operate  at night to break the remaining will of Kadhafi’s loyalists, but also to prove that  NATO  operational capabilities are still high.  And as to pressure more the coalition, Robert Gates, the Pentagon chief, has stated that the campaign is struggling for lack of European support. In Paris, London and Oslo, there are also concerns of a protracted campaign, due to the fact that each country has set the limits of its engagement. All these facts are coming up with the thorny question to the NAO military-political body the  on how to unify the disparate forces and lead to success its presence in Libya. Perhaps, when a crisis entails, as the Libyan is doing, policy makers are well advised to consider two political principals of prudent crisis management which are – limitation of objectives and limitation of means employed on their behalf.