Obama must get stuck in

“Crunch time in Libya,” headlines the Economist, on the “mission creep”* and disorientation affecting the allied intervention in the North African state. “The rebel advance and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s claw back towards the east have been succeeded by what looks like stalemate,” the London weekly writes, adding that the coalition’s “different interests have reasserted themselves.” More specifically, Barack Obama has been “stalling” over whether America will supply the special aircraft needed to attack Gaddafi’s troops in urban areas. “The worry is that the dithering is symptomatic both of a broader reluctance to see the job through”. The Economist urges Obama not to withhold American aircraft “in the calculation that he can keep his hands clean. Alongside the Europeans and Arabs, he should send trainers, spotters, logistical and telecoms support to bolster the rebels, as the UN resolution allows him to do. No matter what the polls say back home, the American president is in this now.”