Vietnam On Meth

The rapid fire flow of events in Libya kind of reminds me of the Vietnam War on super fast forward.

Spy uniform.

• We intervene only after momentum has swung against the side we are backing.
• We don't really know the side we are backing except they are not the side we are not backing.
• We send in "secret" CIA advisers who couldn't be less secret if they worn funny mustaches and special, top secret, spy uniforms.
• We send in equipment.
• We send in soldiers to train our side on the equipment.
• And still more soldiers because we can't lose now that we are committed.

The last two haven't happened yet but they will. In Vietnam this whole process took a decade. In Libya they may only take a few months.

What bothers me is if we were going to intervene it should have happened no later than March 1, when Gadhafi was on his heels and it might have made a difference. It is too late now for the ragtag rebels to defeat Gadhafi's mercenaries in desert warfare where tactics always triumphs over enthusiasm. It will take trained tank commanders with NATO air superiority now to dislodge Gadhafi. (That's the final step above.)