Ode to NATO's Fiscal Farce in Libya

by Jim Egan

Is it not unconscionable that the US, UK & French military

have failed in 100 days and £400m to route Col. Gaddafi?

There are ways to prompt him to flee,

And end his strange reign of tyranny.

Had the private sector been given such a challenge

it would have taken 5 days for just £15m and change.

The Good Book provides a key from one Sura;

a blueprint for success beyond brave Misrata.

Now come reports that France is no longer widely aroused

Over remaining committed to NATO's sputtering bombing ballet.

Yet the farsighted vision at the Pentagon, Whitehall and Ballard

is that no long-tail employment stems from quick regime changes.

Job security instead flows from bombast and gunfire exchanges.

which fail to extinguish the warfires most want doused.

Is it not painful when the well-funded military simply ducks

screaming solutions to save fast-deflating taxpayer bucks?

NATO's obsession is protracted physical warfare, yet Genghis John

taught some to "Never forget conflict's moral and mental dimension."

The net effect of the endless Libya precision bombing campaign?

An endless NATO "Don't interrupt the money flow; add to it!" game.

In a previous life Jim Egan served on staffs on Capitol Hill, at a Pentagon software contractor, and in the White House. Today he is a technologist active in digital futures initiatives that can influence the emotions, brand loyalties and discretionary spending patterns of 100m-sized online audiences.