We understand why a growing number of respected observers, including Sens. John Kerry and John McCain, are urging the U.S. to consider military action in Libya. Who doesn’t want to help push the vicious, crazy Moammar Khadafy into retirementor, preferably, into a prison cell — and to see the brave but poorly armed rebels end four decades of brutal dictatorship?
Who doesn’t worry about the scale of retribution Khadafy might unleash upon the Libyans if his mercenaries are able to push the rebels out of their strongholds in the east and consolidate his control there once more?
But any sort of military intervention — including establishing a no-fly zone or bombing Libyan airfields and aircraft — amounts to a grave step that would insert this country into yet another conflict in a Muslim nation at a time when we still maintain huge commitments in two others. U.S. resources are badly strained after a decade of military operations in Afghanistan and years of difficult warfare in Iraq, where we continue to station tens of thousands of troops.
Perhaps the day will arrive when the U.S. — in concert with other powers — feels compelled to take some sort of military action against Libya to forestall a humanitarian catastrophe, but that moment hasn’t arrived. Nor does it appear to be close.
So while we can understand why President Obama would warn Khadafy’s regime, as he did Monday, that NATO is reviewing “potential military options,” we think this country should keep its powder dry and resist the temptation to intervene in what could turn out to be a prolonged civil war.
Military intervention, even when it involves air power alone, is rarely as clean or as simple as its planners envision. And once the U.S. starts bombing Libyan air defenses and airfields, it will suddenly have a significant stake in the outcome of the conflict on the ground.
What would happen if the relatively ragtag rebel forces fared poorly in future battles even after the imposition of a no-fly zone? The cry would surely go out for the U.S. to send military advisers to help organize defenses and train the rebels for an eventual campaign against Tripoli.
This nation could overthrow Khadafy if it liked. Our troops toppled far more formidable regimes in Kabul and Baghdad only to discover that the nation-building exercise that followed, as well as resistance from die-hard forces loyal to the ousted powers, created a military quagmire for years to come.
Obama has already made it clear that the U.S. wants Khadafy to “step down from power and leave.” He has also warned the dictator’s henchmen that the world will hold them accountable for whatever crimes they commit in trying to cling to power.
Meanwhile, Washington has closed its embassy in Tripoli, frozen $30 billion in Libyan assets, imposed sanctions on the regime, established surveillance of the country with reconnaissance aircraft, and begun a humanitarian airlift. No doubt it can and will do more — ensuring that more aid gets funneled to the rebels, for example — in the weeks to come.
If the Libyans wish to be free of the monster who has oppressed them for so long, however, they will have to liberate themselves.
