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| Africa North |
| 'Libya war could last 30 years': Armed forces minister's extraordinary admission |
| 2011-03-22 |
| This is the paradigm for new age planning. All planning course in military collages and MBA courses can be tossed in the rubbish bin. The subtlety in planning and intelligence in execution is breathtaking. Meanwhile the rubes in Egypt enjoyed the rioting so much the last time that they are at it again. Ministers admitted yesterday that they have no idea how long the military operation against Colonel Gaddafi could take. Asked for an estimate, Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said: 'How long is a piece of string? We don't know how long this is going to go on. We don't know if this is going to result in a stalemate. We don't know if his capabilities are going to be degraded quickly. Ask me again in a week.' The comments come as a defiant Muammar Gaddafi made a speech on Libyan state television last night in which he claimed said he was ready for entrenched conflict, saying; 'In the short term, we'll beat them, in the long term, we'll beat them.' The Libyan leader was said to have delivered the message to supporters at his residential compound near the capital Tripoli which was hit by an allied cruise missile on Sunday. He denounced the 'unjust' action against his country and called those taking action against Libya as 'crazed fascists'. And as Tory MPs expressed fears that the war could last for 30 years, Foreign Secretary William Hague added to fears of an expensive and open-ended commitment, saying that it was impossible to put a deadline on British involvement Mr Hague said: 'It's too early to speculate. It depends what happens one way or another. I don't think you can put a deadline or a time objective to that. We need to do those things as long as it is necessary, and that will depend on how people react in Libya, the reaction of the Gaddafi regime, on so many factors.' In a major speech last night, he added: 'We will continue to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 until there is a complete and genuine ceasefire and an end to attacks on civilians.' Liberal Democrat Mr Harvey went further than any minister yet in admitting that ground forces may be needed. The UN resolution rules out an 'invasion' and an 'occupying force' but not ground force assistance to protect civilian lives. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 The UN resolution rules out an 'invasion' and an 'occupying force' but not ground force assistance to protect civilian lives. This has all the makings of a complete shambles. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2011-03-22 22:11 |