"...The political goal has got to be a stable Iraq.... Forgive me, a Freudian slip!..."

 

(Mc.Clatchy's)- "...The United Nations Security Council resolution that authorized the attacks defines the goal as a ceasefire that stops Gadhafi from assaulting his people... But whether such a ceasefire could leave Gadhafi in power remains an open question. Neither the U.N. nor Obama have said explicitly that Gadhafi must be removed from power, though Obama had called for Gadhafi to step down previously, saying he'd lost all legitimacy to govern....

That troubles some military analysts, who worry that the West's urgent action over the weekend isn't backed by planning for what sort of Libya will be left behind when the aerial campaign stops. It also troubles leading lawmakers on Capitol Hill....

Paul Pillar, a professor at Georgetown University in Washington who spent nearly three decades as a senior U.S. intelligence analyst, said on its face, the U.N. resolution offers no formula for ending the West's military obligations. "If the mission is to protect Libyans, this is a mission that inherently has no end," he said, as long as Gadhafi remains in power. That could certainly happen, Pillar said. "A central fact is the disunity of Libya, which is stitched together from three parts," he said. "It is plausible that (Gadhafi) would hold out in the west even if the eastern part of the country remains" in rebel hands.

The specter of an Iraq-like commitment that lasts years and leaves the West ultimately setting up a post-Gadhafi government hovers over the entire operation. Former British Army commander Gen. Sir Michael Jackson unintentionally made that point during an interview with the BBC Sunday morning."The political goal has got to be a stable Iraq," Jackson said in response to a question about how the conflict might end. The interviewer immediately interrupted — "you mean Libya," she said."What did I say?" Jackson asked. Told he'd said Iraq, the retired general — who led the British army when the Iraq war began — chuckled. "Forgive me, a Freudian slip."

Jackson, cautioning that he has no inside knowledge on what is being discussed, went on to outline a scenario that included a diplomatic arrangement in which Gadhafi remains in power. But he also raised the prospect that the U.N.-sanctioned operation could move beyond the current aerial bombardment if airstrikes fail to topple Gadhafi or bring him to some acceptable accommodation with his armed opponents... (continue, here)