Joshua Foust writes, “No end game in sight for Libya” in PBS
Source: PBS, 6/22/2011
ASP Fellow Joshua Foust is a featured author.
By Joshua Foust
As the western intervention in Libya approaches its fourth month, there are a few signs of progress: some air strikes against the Gadhafi regime, a slow movement of rebel forces throughout the countryside and the encirclement of Tripoli. But there’s also no end game. It’s past time we start to ask why.
The recent act of theater in Congress over whether the Libyan campaign should be constrained by the War Powers Act showed just how sloppy American thinking about the war has become. The problem with the war in Libya is not that President Obama is declining to describe the hostilities as, well, hostilities. It’s that President Obama has been unable to articulate his strategy for ending the war — and just as importantly, defining his vision for a post-war Libya.
It was a real shame to see the disappointment in Congress at how long the Libyan war has lasted. Much of the objection to it back in March hinged on these concerns: it would not be cheap (the war has cost hundreds of millions of dollars to date and is increasing daily); it would not be quick (remember when President Obama promised three months ago the war would last “days, not weeks”?); and it would not be easy (like the recent accidental bombing of rebel militants)…
