Libya: mission accomplished?

If David Cameron breaks his holidays yet again, you’ll know it’s because he expects Gaddafi to be a goner pretty soon. It’s been a busy old night in Tripoli, with Twitter reports suggesting that Gaddafi is already dead. Mind you, William Hague et al have learned to treat Twitter reports with a mountain of salt. Let there be no doubt: Cameron pushed for the Libyan intervention, averting what looked certain to be a massacre in Benghazi. The Prime Minister took a principled stand. In so doing, he reminded the world that the West can still intervene when it so chooses and will not stand by to watch slaughter. This was a decisive moment. Averting a Benghazi massacre was in itself a victory. The no-fly zone could have continued for years, as it did in northern Iraq, and been a success in itself. The mission was not to oust Gaddafi, although it quickly turned into this.

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