CBS and the Associated Press report:
Canadian Lt. General Charles Bouchard is in charge of NATO forces engaged in Libya. He says that the NATO mandate does NOT allow for re-arming the rebels as requested by the USA and UK. “We are there to protect the Libyan people, not arm the people,” his spokesman said.
The White House issued a statement Wednesday that “no decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya.”
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The New York Times reports that the Libyan rebels have been warned not to attack civilians. The NATO operation is to protect civilians, whether pro-rebel or pro-Quaddafi. So attacks on civilians by the rebels will risk NATO air strikes on such efforts.
“The warnings, and intense consultations within the NATO-led coalition over its rules for attacking anyone who endangers innocent civilians, come at a time when the civil war in Libya is becoming ever more chaotic, and the battle lines ever less distinct. They raise a fundamental question that the military is now grappling with: who in Libya is a civilian?”
Quaddafi forces are arming civilians in areas loyal to the current regime, making the situation even more confusing.
The UN Security Council resolution authorizing NATO action makes no distinction between pro-rebel and pro-Quaddafi civilians.
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CONCLUSION: the Canadian-led NATO forces will destroy by air any artillery or military weapon so large that it can't be loaded to the back of a Toyota HiLux pickup truck. Therefore the forces, deprived already of any air superiority, will have a battle of small weapons. It's likely to be a stalemate.
AFTERMATH: President Obama is likely to face re-election against short video clips of himself stating that Quaddafi has to go (but is still in power over part of Libya). Everyone will be reminded of this, for it is now very likely (almost certain) that Obama will face an anti-war primary opponent.
So we have seen bad planning badly executed with a militarily foolish rapid handoff to international authorities. Unfortunately for the USA, the Canadian general is going to do exactly what he is authorized to do – not more and not less.
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