What patience has wrought

Shhhh! Don't tell anybody, but President Obama's Libya strategy might be working. U.S. government sources tell the Washington Post that "new U.S. intelligence assessments conclude that government forces, already beset with morale problems and a steady stream of defections, are now hard-pressed to find fuel for military vehicles after rebel troops shut down a key pipeline. If current trends continue, loyalists troops will run out of fuel by summer’s end, and the Qaddafi government will face a worsening cash and credit shortage because of international sanctions ... Western analysts are seeing troubles escalate on the loyalist side, possibly explaining the surge of interest in finding a negotiated end to the fighting, according to two senior U.S. officials who have seen the assessments." Back in March, I called Obama's approach the "Gas Stove Gambit." That is, he lit a flame under Qaddafi and set it on simmer. With a dollop of military pressure, a generous dash of strategic patience and sufficient time, the dictator's goose would cook. The sound you hear in these latest assessments could very well be the dinner bell.