On target

摘要

THREE months into the war in Libya, and confident talk of Muammar Qaddafi's forces being broken by nato's bombs is being accompanied by worries that the alliance itself is feeling the strain of a prolonged campaign. The British naval chief says that, if the war drags on beyond the autumn, he will have to take "challenging decisions" about how to deploy his ships. His French counterpart complains that if his only carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, remains off Libya for the rest of the year it will have to be out of service for maintenance throughout 2012. Norway, one of the few stalwarts ready to bomb Colonel Qaddafi's forces, says its small air force can no longer cope: it will cut back operations now, and cease them altogether on August 1st.