Chris Pocock, Aviation International (USA)
NATO commanders hoped that the initial air strikes against the regime forces attacking civilians, combined with rapid advances made by the rebels, would either cause Ghadaffi to sue for peace or for his regime to collapse. However, as the rebel advances were reversed and cities like Misrata remained under constant bombardment NATO realized that the strategy to protect civilians needed to be adjusted in order to erode the ability of the regime forces to cause harm. This required more air strikes to degrade the regime’s ability to command and control its forces, and to disrupt the supplies destined for those forces attacking or threatening to attack civilians.