Is “stalemate” the new “quagmire” in Libya?

Among the juicy documents revealed in the release of intelligence assessments of nearly every detainee at Guantanamo Bay obtained by WikiLeaks and reported by various news organizations Monday morning is the fact that for more than five years, Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda bin Qumu was a prisoner at the Guantánamo Bay prison, and judged “a probable member of Al Qaeda” by the analysts there.

But today Qumu is a leading figure with the Libyan rebels trying to oust leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, confirming the fears of some critics who have said that the U.S. should be careful about getting involved militarily in the effort to help the civilians (and indirectly try to remove Qaddafi from power).

The U.S. has been involved in the NATO-led effort in Libya for over 5 weeks now, and the consensus is that things aren't going all that great. Last Friday in Baghdad, Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, characterized what's happening over there as "certainly moving toward a stalemate."

And yesterday, the biggest cheerleader for the war in Congress, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, said on an appearance from Libya on NBC's Meet The Press, essentially the same thing, and added, that with only six out of the 28 nations with NATO involved in the battle in Libya, the U.S. was going to have to step up its commitment.

This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2011.