With several Pentagon officials, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford and Press Secretary Peter Cook talking up military efforts to lay the groundwork for a US war in Libya, which Dunford suggested would be formalized in several weeks, President Obama is starting to talk up the idea too.
The White House confirmed today that President Obama has ordered his national security advisers to draw up plans to “counter” ISIS efforts to expand in Libya. Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed the move, saying several options are being drawn up.
Still, Carter claimed that no decision has been made yet on attacking Libya, and that the US is just watching the situation “very carefully.” He also talked up efforts to back “the Libyans,” though he didn’t indicate which ones, likely reflecting Cook’s comments yesterday that the US is seeking “worthy” factions to back.
Carter’s denial that a decision has been made may be technically true, but given the comments of Gen. Dunford it is very misleading, as clearly the broader decision has already been made, and the questions are just the specifics and the timing of the announcement.
This content originally appeared at Antiwar.com