Ian Bremmer: Don’t start wars you don’t know how to end

Ian Bremmer: Don’t start wars you don’t know how to end The Saudis and Iranians don’t agree on much, but they do share a deep dislike for Muammer Gaddafi. In fact, outside of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez, there really is no one in the international community who does. That is why it was so easy to build international support for a Nato bid to push him from power.

The trouble is that, unless it gets exceptionally lucky, Nato is unlikely to either force Col Gaddafi from his stronghold or cut a politically saleable deal with him anytime soon. Meanwhile, the opposition are making little progress, a fact now worsened by the death of their military leader, Abdel Fattah Younis, who defected from Col Gaddafi in February. The most likely outcome remains a country in pieces, with substantial volumes of crude oil offline for at least the new few months.
http://link.ft.com/r/BLH300/EXKTUY/18GC39/3OGZEJ/YBB7UI/UP/h?a1=2011&a2=7&a3=29