Libya’s Long Slog War Shows No Signs of Progress

Rome Talks End Without Meaningful Agreement

Fighting along the East Libya frontier has mostly stalled, with rebel forces in control of Ajdabiyah and the regime controlling all points westward. The Western city of Misrata is still in rebel hands, and constantly under siege. NATO strikes continue apace, while doing little to change the reality on the ground.

The story is much as it was last week, and the week before, and so on. A high profile series of international talks in Rome ended with a “statement of solidarity” but no real agreements beyond some humanitarian efforts.

All indications are that the Libyan Civil War, and NATO’s loosely related war in Libya are both going to be extremely long slogs, with no end game attainable in any reasonable way. At the same time, there seems to be little interest among NATO nations in ending the war.

The UN Security Council debate earlier this week underscores growing international frustration over the situation. Much of the world appears annoyed at the prospect of the “no-fly zone” resolution becoming an open-ended war, but France and other nations seem unwilling to consider an end. It has become a long slog, like so many others, with little prospect of anything resembling success.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.