Malcolm Chalmers via CNN:
“This has always been a war of attrition by NATO, based on the view that over time the capabilities of the regime would continue to diminish and at some stage — especially since Gadhafi’s forces were having to fight on several fronts at once — would start to crumble,” he said. “And indeed, that seems to be what’s happening.”
Indeed, that is what has happened. Rebels took full control of the last oil facility in Libya yesterday. The regime cannot fill its gas tanks anymore, and that means Ghadafi either leaves Libya or stays to die in Tripoli. This is what military science calls “defeat strategy,” and Ghadafi is apparently choosing exile over bitter endings. I can’t say I’m surprised, and it’s the best of all possible worlds if true.
It has come down to which country will be willing to take Ghadafi, and that involves those rumors a few weeks ago that US officials were trying to create a way out for him. Reportedly, that way out leads to Tunisia, where I’m sure the ICC will come to fetch him.
Meanwhile, the Transitional National Council took control of Libya’s US embassy yesterday, creating one more “fact on the ground.” This is how you help a country liberate itself — without invading it.
