There's a lot of euphoria in Libya -- and among the Obama administration's supporters -- about the westward march of the anti-Gadhafi opposition, thanks to coalition airstrikes. But it stops at the entrance to a certain five-sided building on the Potomac.
"Any gain they make is tenuous," Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the Joint Staff told reporters Monday afternoon. Once you could count on Pentagon officials implying that tactical successes would soon translate to victory. When it comes to the Libyan rebels, not so much. Way to step on the optimism ahead of President Obama's Libya speech tonight.
To some degree that's necessary. The official line from the military is that they're "not coordinating" with the Libyan opposition -- even though they're providing de facto close air support. Or, as Gortney put it, "Clearly, they're achieving a benefit from the actions that we're taking." But to tether the coalition's fate to the opposition's fate -- as aligned as the two anti-Gadhafi entities are -- risks making NATO responsible for overthrowing Moammar Gadhafi, a responsibility it and the Obama administration seek to avoid.
Still, Gortney all but dismissed the Libyan rebels, who he said are about to face a "dug in" loyalist military near Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. "Clearly the opposition is not well organized," he said. "It's not a very robust organization. That's obvious."
The same dour assessment made earlier today by Gen. Carter Ham, the chief of U.S. Africa Command. Leaked emails from Ham published by the New York Times noted that the "regime still vastly overmatches opposition forces militarily" and can push the rebels back "very quickly." (Gortney called Ham's take "pretty good.")
Maybe, but it steps on a hopeful talking point that President Obama might seize on in his televised speech tonight making the case for the Libya war. Already, some of the administration's allies have been boosting the rebels to make it seem like Gadhafi's end is inevitable. "Tide is turning sharply for rebels," tweeted Anne-Marie Slaughter, the former State Department policy chief and a big booster of the war. Tell it to the brass.
Photo: Flickr/AlJazeeraEnglish
See Also:- NATO Will Take Over Libya War ‘On The Fly’
