Behind Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy's statement on Libya lies desperation – and an ominous mission creep
Abdel Bari Atwan
guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 April 2011
"....Fourth, as the situation on the ground deteriorates into a civil war, the US has decided to back the motley revolutionary battalions of Islamists, liberals and rogue military units currently being controlled by self-styled leaders holed up on the 10th floor of the Sheraton hotel in Doha. Obama is concerned – rightly, according to my sources – that al-Qaida is involved: Algeria has warned that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is active in the conflict. What we see now is a classic case of mission creep. As the ethics of regime change become subsumed by logistics, it is clear that the only way any significant progress can be made against Gaddafi is by the introduction of ground troops to back up the rebel fighters. William Hague hinted that small units may be deployed when he said there would be "no large-scale use of ground force" and there has also been talk of using mercenaries....."
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