Without intervention, Gaddafi will triumph in Libya

The tragic truth is that in Libya Colonel Gaddafi appears to be on the way to regaining control. As the US director of national intelligence said today The tragic truth is that in Libya Colonel Gaddafi appears to be on the way to regaining control. As the US director of national intelligence said today, the regime’s superior military strength makes it likely that “over longer term, that the regime will prevail.” Realistically, the only way to stop this from happening is through intervention of some sort—with the most plausible option still a no-fly zone which would deny the regime air superiority. Without this, the regime’s all out-war tactics—as declared by Saif Gaddafi today—will prevail.

If Gaddafi does emerge from this conflict victorious, then he will surely exact the most terrible vengeance on those parts of the country and those tribes that have risen up against him. Gaddafi’s actions in victory will likely provide another test of the international community’s willingness to protect people from slaughter by their rulers.