NATO's targeting grew increasingly precise, one senior NATO diplomat said, as the United States established around-the-clock surveillance over the dwindling areas that Libyan military forces still controlled, using armed Predator drones to detect, track and occasionally fire at those forces.

At the same time, Britain, France and other nations deployed special forces on the ground inside Libya to help train and arm the rebels, the diplomat and another official said.

"We always knew there would be a point where the effectiveness of the government forces would decline to the point where they could not effectively command and control their forces," said the diplomat, who was granted anonymity to discuss confidential details of the battle inside Tripoli.

"At the same time," the diplomat said, "the learning curve for the rebels, with training and equipping, was increasing. What we've seen in the past two or three weeks is these two curves have crossed." NYT_World

I agree with you that

To pretend otherwise is to push transparent propaganda that serves absolutely no purpose.

This is a victory for the Libyans and for the concept that the US can take a support role (with others taking the lead) and accomplish good things.

It was feasible in Libya, where it isn't in Syria, Bahrain, Saudi, etc.

All of our wars have been undeclared and illegal for generations, and always will be, so that's just a moot point with no real world application.  You and I might wish it weren't so, but you know if he'd asked Congress for permission, they'd still be arguing about it today. I'd be surprised if the U.S. ever down to the end of time has another officially declared war.  Not going to happen.  As long as our political/governance system is as broken as it is, it's idiotic, IMO, to expect the president to get congressional approval, especially for this kind of very limited involvement.

So I think there is vindication, given current realities, in that Obama limited U.S. involvement, succeeded in sloughing a lot of it off onto NATO for once, risked no U.S. lives and precious little treasure.  It's turned out that both NATO and the U.S. limited involvement has made the difference in the Libyans being able to finally throw off the goon who's ruled them for such a long time.

I don't think exactly the conditions that prevail in Libya come along very often, but when they do, I think Obama's response was the right one.

I don't know how that's not vindication-- even if half of it was luck, which I think it probably was.  It was a gamble, and it paid off for the Libyan people and ultimately for the world if a bad dictator is thrown off by his own people.

the CEO will always push to edge, it's the job of congress & the courts to rein him/her in, both have failed miserably.

Tonight, the momentum against the Qadhafi regime has reached a tipping point. Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The Qadhafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator.

The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Moammar Qadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end. Qadhafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all. Meanwhile, the United States has recognized the Transitional National Council as the legitimate governing authority in Libya. At this pivotal and historic time, the TNC should continue to demonstrate the leadership that is necessary to steer the country through a transition by respecting the rights of the people of Libya, avoiding civilian casualties, protecting the institutions of the Libyan state, and pursuing a transition to democracy that is just and inclusive for all of the people of Libya. A season of conflict must lead to one of peace.

The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people. Going forward, the United States will continue to stay in close coordination with the TNC. We will continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected. And we will continue to work with our allies and partners in the international community to protect the people of Libya, and to support a peaceful transition to democracy. T/L sidebar

OTOH, getting that debt paid off is a good thing no matter the reason.