Can Gadhafi outlast NATO?

A top British officer warns that his Navy can't afford to continue the war much longer, suggesting that Libya's leader could possibly hang on until the coalition is exhausted

Moammar Gadhafi seems to be betting that he can hold onto power until Western forces are exhausted and call it quits.
(Image credit: Sysoyev Grigory/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis)

The head of the British Royal Navy, Adm. Mark Stanhope, has warned that his fleet can't continue its role in the Libya conflict on its current scale beyond the end of the summer, unless the U.K. makes painful decisions to cut money in other areas to pay for the war. Does that mean Moammar Gadhafi can survive if he keeps a step ahead of NATO bombs for three more months? (Watch an MSNBC discussion about the standoff.)

Gadhafi might just outlast us: The Apache helicopters we sent will make life harder for Gadhafi's ground forces, says Sam Kiley at Sky News, but they "aren't a game changer." Some NATO partners are already running out of bombs. No wonder Gadhafi is ignoring offers of a peaceful exile. His "gamble on NATO losing its stomach for the fight" might just pay off.

"Is NATO's mission in Libya losing momentum?"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

NATO will win, the only question is when: A little skepticism is understandable, says The Christian Science Monitor in an editorial, but "those involved in the NATO bombing campaign in Libya are increasingly confident that ... Moammar Gadhafi will be gone, one way or another." Sooner or later, the big question won't be whether Gadhafi will fall, but how to rebuild Libya after he's gone.

"Libya after Gadhafi: We need a plan"

The U.S. might have to finish the job: "The U.K. has been making irresponsible defense cuts for about 60 years," says Merv Benson at Prairie Pundit, to pay for a welfare state it can't afford. The British military is overstretched, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Libya. To get the job finished in Libya, the U.K. and the rest of the under-gunned European coalition might have to "rely on the U.S. to bail them out again."

"Brits say they cannot sustain Libya operation"

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us