If you must go into war in North Africa, go in heavy, go in hard and get out fast. Humanitarian warfare, however, says go in light, go in soft and stay a long time.
As the rebels fail to advance on Gadhafi's strongholds in western Libya, allied powers enforcing the no-fly zone have increasingly floated the idea of providing the opposition fighters with weapons.
Far from having any significant stake in Libya's future, by sending forces to support the no-fly zone, Ottawa is looking to raise Canada's international geopolitical profile.
In its response to the recent uprisings in the Arab world, the West has been walking a tightrope of contradictory principles. Libya became the place where they fell off.
