Never Ending Commitment

America finds herself in a marriage arranged by our cunning parent Great Britain and our scheming cousin France. We are now wed, tied inextricably to the conflict in Libya. These two European powers sought to further their national interests using our treasure, in this case, our military resources that vastly exceed their own. Were England and France somehow taken with a humanitarian impulse that somehow never moved them to act in Darfur where hundreds of thousands more were killed and displaced than were ever threatened by Qaddafi in Libya? Did a conscience suddenly start to trouble that never pricked before? And what is this of timetable and limited duration of the engagement? What if Muammar Qaddafi survives or dies but has managed to solidify enough support to pass power to one of his sons? What if we have to fight a dynastic Qaddafi regime in Libya like we see passing from generation to generation in North Korea or Syria? How can the United States imagine that this new war will be quick or limited? The Qaddafi clan has quite a bit to say about that. Their survival in authority will predicate how long this lasts- not our intentions, not our military superiority, or advantage in technology and planning. Everyday, Muammar Qaddafi remains he gains strength and convinces would be opponents of his invincibility. After all, Muammar is standing up to the United Nations, the US, England, France, and now NATO. This war may not be short-lived but enduring.