10:48AM
France engages, Qaddafi plows on
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 10:48AM 
Sarkozy just on CNN confirming that French jets are engaged over Libya as Qaddafi's forces enter Benghazi.
This mustering seems to come just in time or just too late, as clearly now, Qaddafi's "cease-fire" was a time-gaining ploy.
Sarkozy's statement left open the possibility that Qaddafi can negotiate his departure (turning the clock back a bit), but one assumes the colonel ain't interested at this point, thinking he can finish the job and then go into Saddam-like lockdown (a decent bet on his part).
Actually, his ploy on the cease-fire helps a bit. Moves things along at a time when additional foot-dragging was possible.
Reader Comments (5)
I wonder who would have played the roles of April Glaspie and Tariq Aziz this time?
2 Thoughts:
1.) I see this as a victory--albeit a small one--for the "Blue" forces in the Pentagon.
2.) Why not ask Turkey to take the lead on this one? It removes the hint (however slight) of "Islam-vs.-the-West", and could reduce the potential flare-up in Europe's segregated Muslim communities (though a good IO campaign by the French and British Gov'ts could play this as the West protecting Muslims from secular dictators). An incentive could be removal of some barriers to Turkey's membership in the EU.
What a mess. The Colonel's people already claiming that the Crusaders are killing civilians. The Arab League engaging in the type of treachery that is famous in that part of the world. The promise that no American or British troops will set foot on Libyan soil sends this scenario right to civil war at the AK 47 and RPG level. That kind of fight can drag on forever.
Those cruise missiles are dandy. Their little brains telling them to follow the railroad tracks and turn left at the smoke stack. Hi tech stuff. Didn't get OBL for us though..or Saddam. Took men on the ground to pull him out of a hole. I am not clear on who is calling the shots here. President Obama left town. Hillary is seen with the French guy. The Chairman JCOS is on the T.V. looking uncomfortable.
Tom: You mentioned recently that the US could jump in and lead. I see this as the US (Obama in particular) saying 'please God, will someone else jump in here?' And I don't see anything wrong with that.
I will have an Esquire post on this later in week. I too, as I said in another post, am coming around to his negotiating tactics on burden sharing.