Potential Verification - an Analysis of Military Action in Libya in 2011

Abstract

The conflict in Libya will definitely be a topic of various future analytical and academic analyses for a very long time. The activities conducted there undoubtedly can be seen as a significant test of combat readiness both in the national and allied dimension, and interesting also from the organizational and purely military perspective. The main goal of the paper is to analyze the aspects mentioned above, especially from the British and American perspectives. The availability of the source material is not the only reason for defining the field of research in this way. Both countries were strongly involved in the conflict. In the case of Great Britain, we have a highly interesting and valuable chance to analyze the first outcome of a very important change in British strategic thinking, formulated in the Strategic Defense and Security Review of 2010. The other goal of the paper is to look at American involvement in the conflict and its meaning as seen from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, the analysis aims to emphasize the similarities and differences regarding the former cases of military engagement of both countries, and to check if the Libyan conflict can be seen as a typical conflict in the region.