The spectacle of American, British and French missiles pulverising an Arab and Muslim country at the dead of night arouses a sense of foreboding. Such ventures have too often begun with good intentions and naive overconfidence, as oil-rich despots see their armour crumple and burn beneath superior Western technology. Within weeks, though, vainglory turns into a costly and bloody quagmire. Yet nobody could accuse Barack Obama and his allies, chiefly Britain's David Cameron and France's Nicolas Sarkozy, of overconfidence in attacking Libya on March 19th.
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