Is it a quagmire yet?

Up to now, I haven’t weighed in on the war, kinetic military action, aggressive humanitarian mission - whatever it is – in Libya, because I’m not really sure what’s going on.

I’m apparently a member of a large club in that regard, which includes even the president of the United States. So, Barry, just exactly what are you up to? You say Qaddafi must go, but claim that the scope of our activities does not include regime change. We followed France’s lead in supporting the rebels, only to find out that al-Qaeda is, to some extent at least, involved on their side. If we’re not truly committed to eliminating Qaddafi, then what happens if he manages to cling to power more or less indefinitely? Will we be establishing a permanent cordon of air cover to protect civilians? What if that doesn’t work? Will you be reduced to having U.S. planes drop DVDs of your recent speech on Qaddafi’s forces, in the hope that your awesome rhetoric will cause government troops to stack arms and go home?

Or is this whole thing like the making of Casablanca, in which shooting began before the writers had finished the script, and nobody had any real idea, day to day, how the movie was going to end?

Say, here’s a thought, Mr. President: look under the sheet music on the piano; maybe you’ll find a coherent strategy there (right next to the Letters of Transit).

Update: One relevant question is, “what was the impact of Obama’s speech on Qaddafi?” See here for the hilarious answer