20110428
presstv
The United States and its allies do not seem to be serious in their intentions to remove Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi from power, says a political analyst.

“These leaders like [US President Barack] Obama, [British Prime Minster] Cameron and [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy are always saying 'we have got to get rid of this and do that and there must be democracy [in Libya]', yet they just do not seem to be putting their full weight into it,” Christopher Walker, a Middle East expert, told Press TV on Wednesday.

"There is a strong feeling on the ground in eastern Libya that for some reason NATO is talking the talk but not walking the walk," he added.

Walker also noted that “questions are being raised as to why the US has not been using its notorious A-10 tank busting aircraft against Gaddafi's forces, which could well have turned the whole war round.”

The analyst also pointed out that the Western coalition airstrikes in Libya are "not working as well as people had hoped," due to divisions among the ranks of NATO member states on how the war should be conducted.

“Do not forget some NATO countries -- leading ones like Germany -- want nothing to do with this operation at all. They are not even taking part in it,” Walker said.

He warned that the Western coalition military operations in Libya might turn into another long war.

“After all this time, the situation is still unclear situation and the only straight prediction that anybody could make is that it is a long way from over," the analyst said.

Massive protests in February -- inspired by revolts that toppled long-time autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia -- escalated into a war when Gaddafi troops fired on demonstrators and revolutionary forces in turn seized several eastern towns.

The Western coalition forces unleashed a major air campaign against the Libyan regime on March 19 under a UN mandate namely to “protect the Libyan population.”

However, dozens of civilians have been killed in Libya since the Western coalition forces began their aerial attacks on the North African country.