August 09, 2011

Command Post: "Why Did the U.S. Hand Off the Libyan War to NATO?"

Why did the U.S. military agree to do the "heavy lifting" in the opening days of the war with Libya -- launching long-range bombing strikes from the continental U.S., among other martial fireworks -- before handing off the next nearly six months (and counting!) to our NATO allies? Is this a new way of waging war on the cheap for the U.S. military? A template for future multi-national military campaigns? John Nagl of the Center for a New American Security and yours truly discuss the issue with Andrew Exum, a former Army officer now with CNAS, and Paul Hughes, a retired Army colonel and Libya expert now with the U.S. Institute of Peace.