Friday, May 20, 2011

Precise But Not Fast

It was three weeks ago that I noted that NATO stopped Khaddafi forces from mining Misrata's harbor. NATO finally bombed Libyan naval units in port, citing Libyan efforts to mine the port:

"Overnight, NATO aircraft hit pro-Kadhafi warships, striking eight vessels," it added.

"Given the escalating use of naval assets, NATO had no choice but to take decisive action to protect the civilian population of Libya and NATO forces at sea," said Rear Admiral Russell Harding, deputy head of the NATO-led air war.

Did it really take three weeks of negotiating within NATO for the alliance to agree to take out Libyan naval assets?