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Obama leaves open some Libya questions

President Barack Obama argued on Monday that the United States had accomplished many of its goals in Libya. But a nagging question remained: How long will US forces be involved there?
Obama has found himself facing criticism throughout the Libyan crisis. First, he was accused of dithering for not acting sooner, and when he did act, US lawmakers felt the air assaults had begun without a proper explanation of the mission’s goals or how its success could be judged.
In a speech trying to lay to rest those questions, Obama gave a thorough defence of why he launched the mission.
He said it was a justifiable humanitarian mission, limited in scope, to prevent a massacre by Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi against his people who oppose his 41-year rule.
As it stands now, Obama could get a political boost from the Libyan operation. No American lives have been lost. The United States is no longer in the lead, meaning the mission’s costs may be limited in these days of tight budgets.
But after the speech, a variety of questions lingered:
* Exit strategy. Obama made the case that the United States, by transferring control of the operation to Nato, had already all but exited. He said US forces would now take a back seat, providing intelligence, logistical support, search and rescue and a jamming of Qadhafi’s communications.
“So for those who doubted our capacity to carry out this operation, I want to be clear: the United States of America has done what we said we would do,” he said.
But he did not offer a view on when the mission would be over, a question that may well be unknowable as long as Qadhafi remains in power and able to put pressure on Libyan rebels.

18:43 | |

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