Our role in NATO and NATO’s in Libya

WE SAY the Libyan rebels need more NATO planes, and it makes sense for us to provide them — but cautiously.

As the civil war inside Libya intensifies, NATO must decide the best way to carry out its declared mission under changing circumstances.

As it has been stated, the goal of NATO’s mission is to see Gadhafi leave power.

But the international alliance has made clear that it will not be the one to directly remove him from power.

Instead, it hopes the rebels in the country will eventually remove Gadhafi from power themselves. In this way, NATO will simply act as an arm of the rebels, supporting their military campaign against Gadhafi, but not conducting a military mission of its own.

If everything goes to plan, the rebels, with NATO’s support, will be able to eventually take control of the country, city by city, or see the abdication of Gadhafi, thus leading to the establishment of a new rebel-controlled Libya.

But with the pro-Gadhafi camp stronger now than anticipated, the battlefields have become entrenched and the fighting has intensified.

Specifically because the sides have solidified clearly between rebel and pro-Gadhafi lines, fighting that was traditionally on a battlefield with clear sides has been moved to inner city fire fights.

With no clear battle lines, it is increasingly difficult for NATO to use traditional aircraft to combat pro-Gadhafi forces, who are now dispersed throughout the contested cities.

Because of these evolving circumstances, NATO has requested new ground-attack aircraft that have greater precision capabilities.

Overall, we believe NATO needs to be able to make use of these precision aircraft so it can continue to fight effectively against the changing face of the pro-Gadhafi forces.

Because the fighting is no longer out in the open between cities, it makes it nearly impossible for non-precision air strikes to take out enemy fortifications or positions.

Furthermore, because the fire fights are concentrated in highly populated cities, there is a greater chance of causing civilian casualties with less precise aircraft. To avoid these civilian casualties and respond to the changing face of the conflict, NATO should be provided with more precise and sophisticated aircraft.

While the United States has committed itself to only a supporting role in NATO’s mission, it should, if necessary, be the member to provide these specialized aircraft to the mission.

As long as the mission and its definition does not change and NATO remains the only foreign flag behind the rebel forces, we believe the United States and its allies should provide NATO with the necessary military equipment to complete its mission.