Obama Drones on in Libya

James Carafano / April 22, 2011

Libya is 700,000 square miles. It is on the list of the top 20 largest countries on earth. Obama is sending two drones —big deal.

The Pentagon says they will be used to help pick out the good guys’ pickup trucks from the bad guys’ pickup trucks and then take them out. Picking out targets with a Predator drone is like trying to see the world through a soda straw. Without the bigger intelligence picture and coordination with elements on the ground, it is difficult to see how they could be anything but marginally effective.

Committing the drones may be a sop to NATO allies who have complained that the U.S. took the most valuable and effective combat air assets (C-130 gunships and A-10 close support aircraft) out of the fight.

This “contribution” is anything but a game changer. (more…)