Libya - The Lure of the Quagmire

On Wednesday the Russian ambassador to Nato warned that Britain and France were "being dragged more and more into the eventuality of a land-based operation in Libya". This is what the defence lobby wants institutionally, even if it may appal the generals. In the 1980s Russia watched the same process in Afghanistan, where it took a dictator, Mikhail Gorbachev, to face down the Red Army and demand withdrawal. The west has nobody in the Gorbachev mould of course. Nato's Secretary General Rasmussen says he "could not envisage" a land war in Libya, since the UN would take over if Gaddafi were toppled. He is using a verbal constuction to cover himself here. 'Could not envisage' doesn't mean 'rules out', as he knows. This is a nonsense. But then he said Nato would only enforce a no-fly zone in Libya. He achieved that weeks ago, but is still bombing.