“Exactly eight years after international coalition forces attacked Iraq in order to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime, “Western forces” are now engaged in a similar confrontation: air and missile strikes, this time against Libya. The official aim is to keep Muammar Gadhafi’s forces from harming rebellious civilians, but the actual objective is to overturn his regime.

At first glance, it is easy to extrapolate from the Iraq experience and hazard forecasts regarding this Libya offensive. Yet the truth is that there are some important differences between the two situations, differences that reflect a change of perception.”

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