1. What if the no fly zone doesn't work and Gadaffi takes Bengazhi anyway?

   Then the rebels lose Bengazhi. The point of shooting down Qaddafi's air force is to prevent Qaddafi from terror bombing cities he does not like. It is not to support the rebels (whose objectives we do not know).

2. What if the rebels win and commit massacres in Tripolis?

   Then there is nothing we can do about it. We can prevent terror bombing from the air, and to some degree terror bombing from mobile artillery. We have no way to prevent either side from using ground forces to commit massacres.

3. What happens if there is a military stalemate?

   Then we withdraw, and leave an anti-aircraft ship or two off the coast to dissuade the use of air power by the belligerents. Nothing more we can do without boots on the ground, and boots on the ground is A Very Bad Idea, for a long list of reasons.

4. What if Libya drifts into anarchy?

   Isn't that pretty much where it is right now?

5. Who is actually for this war?

   Doesn't that depend on what magnitude of war we're talking about? I think everybody except a few neocons with penis envy is against committing ground forces. Most people seem to be in favour of not allowing Qaddafi to terror bomb Libyan cities. The main difference of opinion seems to be over the degree to which European bombers should be offering tactical air support to the rebels (for the record, I think that's a bad idea).

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.