Muammar Gaddafi is still around and threatening Europe now. He should have gone into exile in Venezuela or wherever one of his friends invites him for sanctuary. Dictators often end up in Saudi Arabia or France, but Gaddafi has burned his bridges with most Arab and Muslim countries. The French, of course, are one of the major players in NATO attacking Gaddafi’s government.
When the end finally comes, Gaddafi’s going to need help from some of his friends like Hugo Chavez. However, rumors have consistently floated that NATO will strike a deal for a sanctuary for the Libyan strongman if he packs it in. Now there is talk of an internal exile. Any option that leaves Gaddafi in Libya is a bad deal. He will foment trouble unless he is completely removed.
Nevertheless, the four-month anniversary of NATO’s involvement in Libya is coming up and Gaddafi is still there. He has lost ground since NATO saved the Libyan rebels from annihilation. Although Gaddafi is intent on hanging on as long as he has a sliver of a chance of winning, the game is up for him. NATO is only using limited air attacks. The United States is playing a limited support role. This is a victory that the rebels must win on the ground. Slowly they are doing it. Even a limited ground invasion by NATO would end this quickly, but NATO nations don’t want any loss of life or create bad PR in Muslim countries so the pattern of stalemate and miniscule progress continues.
It might take the rest of the year, but Gaddafi will be gone. He is a fool for failing to see it. He still makes blustery threats, and then retreats to some bomb proof shelter. He needs a serious assault on his forces while someone holds open the exit door for him.
The only thing more foolish than Gaddafi hanging around is the limited war by NATO. It is prolonging the pain for Libya. At this point, the Western nations should be able to locate non-extremists among the ranks of the Libyan rebels. They should be showered with humanitarian and military aid to boost their standing and provide the difference for victory against Gaddafi. However, that is too controversial and forceful for NATO. NATO could end this war in a week, but then it would have to commit to a real war.
It is difficult to know which side is more delusional. Is it NATO that tries to win a war by limited fighting or Gaddafi who thinks he can restore his rule over all Libya? As misguided as NATO is, when it comes to crazy and foolish, that is still something Gaddafi wins hands down.
