The Hill News

1. The Libyan rebels have won. If or when Moammar Gadhafi is captured or killed, it will be NATO firepower that has achieved it with the help of foreign training of the Libyan ragtag rebel army. Even if Gadhafi is ousted, he has sufficient armed supporters to carry on a civil war. As former Secretary of State Colin Powell famously said before the 2003 invasion of Iraq: “If you break it, you own it.” France, Britain and other NATO states have made it clear that they will remain “partners” with the new Libyan authorities and they will make sure that future Libyan policy is in line with their strategic objectives. With chaos looking the likeliest scenario for at least the short term, statements by President Obama and David Cameron, the British prime minister, that the future will be “Libyan owned” ring hollow.

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