NATO Out of Ideas as Libyan War Mired in Stalemate

Still No End-Game, But British DM Vows War Will Continue

The story is the same as ever, the Libyan War is still a stalemate. Claims of progress are few and far between for either faction, while the NATO air strikes are showing no signs of changing anything on the ground.

Worse still, NATO has no “plan B” in the conflict, launching repeated strikes more as a matter of course than out of the belief it will accomplish anything. Nearly two months in, questions about the wisdom of starting the war are growing.

British Defense Secretary Liam Fox, for his part, doesn’t like to talk about the stalemate. Instead, he is insisting that “it is very important that we give no sign of any wavering,” and that the strikes will continue.

But to what end? That is a question neither Fox nor any other NATO official seems to have an answer for. Other than concern that ending the ill-considered war will look bad, officials seem to have little reason for keeping the war up. Meanwhile, NATO’s demands for Gadhafi’s ouster are preventing what many analysts see as the only real end-game, a peace deal and a partition.

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.