Reply #3: USA, Gates exaggerate the difficulty of no-fly zone (WAPO)

[Catherina]

LibyaNewMedia LibyaNewMedia
The Washinton Post confirms what I've been saying before: USA, Gates exaggerate the difficulty of no-fly zone: washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content…
1 hour ago

A no-fly zone over Libya deserves more consideration

Thursday, March 3, 2011

...
Given those circumstances, it only makes sense that Ms. Clinton and other officials began talking this week of tangible measures to curtail Mr. Gaddafi's military operations, such as a no-fly zone - a step requested by Libya's own delegation to the United Nations. On Wednesday the regime again dispatched planes to attack opposition positions, and it may also be using aircraft to transport troops or foreign mercenaries.

Part of the Libyan air force has already defected, and the opposition has captured several of its bases - so grounding the remaining warplanes would appear to be a manageable undertaking for U.S. or NATO forces. Yet in his own congressional testimony Wednesday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates did his best to dump cold water on the idea - claiming that it could not be done with one aircraft carrier and would require "an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses."

While the Pentagon's view cannot be taken lightly, this assessment sounded exaggerated. U.S. and allied warplanes maintained a no-fly zone over Iraqi Kurdistan for more than a decade without eliminating Saddam Hussein's air defenses. Similarly, Western planes could defend the areas of Libya under opposition control from air attack without taking on every air defense battery in the relatively small territories under Mr. Gaddafi's sway. The mere threat of encountering U.S. warplanes could serve to ground what remains of Libya's air force.

No U.S. military action should be undertaken in Libya without a careful assessment of the risks. A clear appeal from an opposition authority, and support from Arab or European states, are also needed. But the United States should not settle on inaction because of inflated assessments of the regime's remaining capabilities, or resistance from U.N. Security Council members such as Russia. If indeed the stakes in Libya are as Ms. Clinton and others describe them, the United States must do what it can to help bring about Mr. Gaddafi's downfall.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/02/AR2011030206734.html

No comment. 2 convoluted to even comment on now.