Topic: War and Peace News - on March 31, 2011 at 4:16:00 PM CEST
Operation Unified Protector (was Odyssey Dawn) explained (Day 12)
It’s somehow clear that the coalition aircraft are playing an important role not only enforcing the No-Fly Zone over Libya or protecting the civilians from being attacked by Gaddafi’s forces, but also and above all in marking the extent of the rebel’s gains or retreats. If and when allied aircraft strike loyalist forces, the oppositors are able to advance in spite of their equipment or (lack of) organisation; when, like it seemed to happen during most of Day 12, the number and intensity of strikes on ground tagets decreases, the rebels are compelled to beat a rapid eastward retreat. Some explained the series of gains and subsequent retreats as a sign that Air Power is not enough when not backed by a direct ground intervention while, in my honest opinion, at least in this theatre, it’s the opposite. For the moment, it’s not a problem of being on the ground but a problem of being compelled to strike targets within the mandate of a United Nations resolution that gives little chance for offensive or pre-emptive operations required to render Gaddafi unable to harm his own people.
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