Is Libya a Model?
"NATO got it right," Vice President Joe Biden said. "This is more the prescription for how to deal with the world as we go forward."But the NATO model also was beset by shortcomings, including uneven participation and inadequate supplies, fuel and targeting intelligence. World leaders have yet to decide what role they will play in the next days of Libya's struggle, as the country tries to unite disparate militias and form a government.
Future interventions may not look the same and may not involve NATO. Some could involve little air power and more special operations troops on the ground. Others could involve U.S. forces training indigenous forces.
But the common elements will be a small footprint and little time to plan the mission, administration and military officials said. - Julian Barnes and Adam Entous
I think a lot of the talk about whether Libya is a model begs an important question - a model for what? Both the initial war in Afghanistan and this longer conflict in Libya validate the idea that precision airpower, special forces and large numbers of allied indigenous fighters on the ground can run a regime out of a country. If this is our objective, then clearly, Libya, like the initial toppling of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, is a vindication.
But it is certainly not an ideal model for creating a stable, post-war state in Libya. If we're willing to leave that job up to the Libyans come what may, that's one thing. But I suspect that, like in Afghanistan, the bar for "success" is going to move inexorably toward political settlements and national institution building - areas that the "Libyan model" as presently constituted can't address.
