Libya: Allied Airstrikes Working, But Intervention Could Last Months
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NATO officially agreed to take the reigns Sunday, relieving the U.S. of leading a mission that is now expected to continue for months.
Asked whether the operation, designed to provide air and naval support for rebels fighting to oust dictator Moammar Gaddafi from his stronghold in Tripoli, would conclude by year's end, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: "I don't think anybody knows the answer to that."
There was significant debate among the 26 NATO members about what the Brussels-based organization's role shoud be. Several countries expressed doubts about potential "mission creep" in Libya as well as inflaming relations with the non-Western world.
That's because, as Al Jazeera reports, "BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and South Africa within IBSA's southern democracies (India, Brazil and South Africa) have all voiced concerns and outright objections.
They reckon that Western powers are exploiting Arab and international support for the international no-fly zone to expand the alliance's role and mission in the future beyond its core mission of defending Europe."
One certainty is that without outside support, the rebellion wouldn't stand a chance of success. TIME reports:
"The Libyan civilians populating the front line, as it shifts from Benghazi to Ajdabiyah, Brega, and Ras Lanuf, have little doubt that rebel advancement — and safety from government shelling and siege — is heavily, if not entirely, dependent on allied air strikes. It's a fact that is troubling to both the rebel fighters and the western governments seeking to extricate themselves from an increasingly complicated civil war. But without their assistance, the residents here say, their towns would have been totally decimated, rebels anrebel sympathizers hunted down, kidnapped or killed."
And yet, the invervention is working, albeit more slowly that early estimates indicated:
"The coalition airstrikes, which began a week ago, have quickly reversed the military balance along the eastern coast. The rebel advance on Sunday moved the eastern front further west then it had been at the peak of rebel gains several weeks ago, but the extent of their control in the recaptured area was not clear."
As the U.S. backs away from the lead military role, it will focus on facilitating a transfer of power in Libya. Specifically, Reuters wrote, "the U.S. secretaries of state and defense raised the possibility that Gaddafi's government could splinter and said a London conference on Tuesday would discuss political strategies to end his 41-year rule of the oil-exporting North African nation."
Obama will speak at 4:30 p.m. PST on Monday.
