West must set limits on Libya engagement The western allies are in a fine Libyan pickle. The real mission of the British and French military “advisers” being dispatched to the rebel camp is to explore what the west might do to get out of it. The declared objectives of their national leaderships are much larger than the means available to achieve them. It was because defence chiefs on both sides of the Atlantic foresaw this that they were reluctant to intervene in the first place.
David Cameron, British prime minister, was much influenced in his decision to lead a charge against Muammer Gaddafi by memories of alleged western pusillanimity in Bosnia in the 1990s. Thousands of civilians were massacred while the European powers flinched from action without US participation, which Bill Clinton was slow to sanction.
http://link.ft.com/r/4RNQTT/NSYM1V/KEIJMC/BM041Y/BM0E2H/ID/h?a1=2011&a2=4&a3=20
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