A year ago the fighting in Libya that was to see the downfall of the Gadhafi regime in Tripoli was moving to its conclusion in Libya. In October 201I, the final remnants of the Gadhafi supporters were hanging on by a thread in a small number of locations in southern and central Libya, emboldened by their tribal connections to a regime whose hold on power was becoming increasingly tenuous. Then, with the full military might of the NATO alliance and its coalition allies, it was only a question of time before the insurrection would see a new government formed in Tripoli. The images of Libyan tanks and armoured personnel carriers being systematically targeted and destroyed by a United Nations authorised campaign proved just how far the application of air power had moved since World War Two. Air power had shown the versatility to be applied both in its hard and soft forms. In a 21st century where media images of dead women and children can cause public support for military interventions to evaporate in an instant, this was important.
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