Alain Juppe: "We have underestimated Gaddafi's capacity to adapt..."

(Reuter/Africa)- France is opposed to the idea of sending troops into Libya to guide air strikes as the West struggles to break a military stalemate in the North African country, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday. Juppe said the situation in Libya was "difficult" and "confused" a month after France launched the first U.N.-mandated strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces. He added that the West had underestimated the Libyan leader's ability to adapt his tactics in response to the coalition campaign... "It is likely ... that there will not be a military solution," he added... Juppe said a political solution would require a "real" ceasefire and for the rebel opposition to sit down around a negotiating table with tribal leaders and defected Gaddafi officials. He added that military pressure should be maintained and even intensified to encourage more defections...