I wasn’t sure if this should go here or “great debates”, but since I’m interested in numbers and facts rather than the politics behind them I decided this was the best of the two, so sorry if I’m wrong.
Anyway, the latest bit of news to come out regarding the civil war (or whatever you want to call it) is that Col. Gaddafi has threatened to attack Europe if NATO don’t withdraw.
Would he actually be able to act on that threat or is he just posturing or trying to rally his remaining supporters?
What does he mean by “Europe”? There’s certainly no way he could send fighter-bombers to London, for example. Maybe he could try a few brief attacks against the very southern edge of Spain, or something.
It’s a bit like saying “I’m going to attack Africa”. Attack who in Africa?
He doesn’t have any force projection capabilities. Is he planning on landing boats of soldiers in Spain and having them try work their way up through Spain, France, etc.? They wouldn’t last till lunchtime.
If he’s talking terrorism, then I guess anyone who wants to do it is an equal threat.
No, Libya has no military force to speak of, and certainly no navy or air force to launch any kinds of attacks on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. The threat is implying terrorism.
He essentially has no air force left. Any remaining planes, or any attempt to send a force by sea, would be wiped out by NATO the second they were perceived to be a threat.
He could attempt terrorism, but that would be the single best way to persuade NATO to send in an invasion force and evict him directly. He wouldn’t last much longer than the time it took to organize one.
Malta better watch out!
Apparently, a Lybian official involved in negociations about Khadaffi’s exit said not to pay attention to the statement, that was merely propaganda (I assume he meant it was intended for internal consumption).