Editorial by Adam J
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Editorial By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief Why Qaddafi Must Go April 12, 2011 n mid-April, with no resolution to Lib- aboard the aircraft are killed, as are 11 A no-fly zone over Libya might seem Iya’s month-long civil war in sight, the people on the ground hit by the falling simple enough, but this “solution” could African Union announced a cease-fire wreckage. After a painstaking investiga- be a disaster for the Air Force, which proposal enthusiastically endorsed by tion, the attack is eventually traced back would be left holding the bag. Think back Muammar Qaddafi’s supporters. to Qaddafi’s Libya. to the most famous US no-fly zones, Libya’s rebel leaders promptly re- Jan. 4, 1989: In another Gulf of Sidra over Iraq. jected the proposal. The proposed truce incident, two Libyan MiG-23s race to- Operations Northern and South- cynically called for talks between the ward the Navy’s aircraft carrier John F. ern Watch defended Iraq’s minorities factions and an end to air operations Kennedy in international waters. A pair from attack by Saddam Hussein but defending Libyan citizens—but did not of F-14s turn away the MiGs four times, consumed billions of dollars, required call for Qaddafi to step down. but on the fifth and closest approach, the hundreds of thousands of sorties, en- In addition to being a murderous thug Tomcats shoot down the two missile- dured thousands of Iraqi missile and and longtime supporter of international armed MiGs. anti-aircraft artillery attacks, and forced terrorism, Qaddafi is also a master ma- Like it or not, hundreds of Air Force counterattacks nipulator and survivalist. He has clung against Iraq’s air defenses, radars, and to power in Libya for 41 years, mostly as the US is now committed C2 elements. an international pariah. After promising and must lead the rebels The no-fly zones were supposed to be to ruthlessly murder his opposition this to victory. temporary, but lasted for 12 years—only spring—and very nearly succeeding— ending with the 2003 invasion of Iraq. the only solution now is to remove him Aug. 20, 2009: Lockerbie bomber They were the worst of both worlds: from power. Abdelbaset al Megrahi is released from a dead-serious mission against a foe The US is not a neutral party in this prison in Scotland on “compassionate intent on shooting down a US aircraft, issue, and it is useful to recount some grounds,” supposedly with less than but consisting mostly of uneventful of the lowlights from four decades of three months to live. He served less than flights that degraded skills and wore American “relations” with Qaddafi. nine years of a life sentence. Megrahi is out equipment. June 11, 1970: The Air Force shuts feted with a hero’s welcome upon his re- Without assertive action, the situation down Wheelus Air Base, near Tripoli, turn to Libya, where he lives to this day. in Libya could easily wind up the same, after Qaddafi spent his first year as March 17, 2011: “The matter has and the Air Force cannot afford another Libya’s dictator ordering the US base been decided. ... We are coming,” Qad- permanent combat mission. Since the closed and harassing its occupants. At dafi says as his forces close in on the no-fly zones began, neither side has one point near the end, Qaddafi was rebel stronghold of Benghazi. He vows shown a decisive advantage. The US, involved in an Old West-style standoff “no mercy or compassion” toward those NATO, Arab League, and other support- with then-Col. Chappie James, the base who resist him, saying his forces will ers therefore need to arm the rebels commander, who had to tell Qadd afi to go door to door to punish his enemies. and have special operators work closely take his hand off his gun. The NATO air campaign begins two with them to coordinate movement and Aug. 19, 1981: After Qaddafi declares days later. direct air strikes. portions of the Mediterranean Sea as “There needs to be a transition that Qaddafi’s forces, C2, and creature Libyan territory, President Reagan or- reflects the will of the Libyan people comforts need to be targeted and quickly ders the Navy to patrol the Gulf of and the departure of Qaddafi from destroyed. The Air Force’s strike aircraft Sidra. A Libyan Su-22 fires a missile at power—and from Libya,” said Secretary have gone home to Europe, but they can patrolling Navy F-14s, and two Tomcats of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. NATO easily be recalled. (one carrying Vice Adm. David J. Venlet, is defending Libya’s citizens and enforc- Like it or not, the US is now commit- now director of the F-35 program) shoot ing a no-fly zone, relying heavily on Air ted and must lead the rebels to victory. down two Su-22s. Force enablers. This is not enough. Thus far, however, others have taken the April 5, 1986: The Libyan govern- Qaddafi has proved two things dur- lead for various political, diplomatic, and ment orchestrates the bombing of a ing his four-decade reign of terror: (1) military reasons. West Berlin nightclub packed with US He will not be contained, and (2) he Unfortunately, NATO has never had servicemen. The explosion kills three knows how to stay in power. Continued the will to lead a war without American and injures more than 200, including stalemate could lead to a divided Libya leadership, and the Arab League has 79 American troops. Nine days later, partly under Qaddafi’s control, partly been ambivalent about the mission Reagan orders Operation Eldorado held by the rebels. from the outset. UN Security Council Canyon, a massive air raid against Whether it is leading a decisive ac- Resolution #1973 calls for “a peaceful Libyan military facilities, command and tion or an open-ended air blockade, the and sustainable solution” to Libya’s control elements, and suspected terror Air Force will be there: It alone has the civil war. training sites. intelligence, battle management, refu- There is only one peaceful and sus- Dec. 21, 1988: A bomb rips through eling, and precision attack capabilities tainable solution. If Qaddafi stays in Pan Am Flight 103, destroying the air- needed to make an effective air opera- power, history shows he will eventually craft above Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 tion possible. go after all those who opposed him. n 6 AIR FORCE Magazine / May 2011.