What The French Learned From Their Involvement In he Libyan War

French fighter jets, as part of the assembled international forces, begin military operations in Libya under U.N. Security Council 'no-fly zone resolution.' (screenshot from Al Jazeera English video, March 19, 2011)

French Libya Lessons Learned: Better Targeting, Flexible ROEs, Limits To Armed UAVs -- Aol Defense

A main point underscored by the French military was the impact of the political process on military planning. The French President clearly saw the need for the operation and had worked closely with the British Prime Minister to put in place a political process which would facilitate a Libyan support operation for the rebels. But until NATO received the UN Mandate was obtained, no military action could be authorized. This meant that there was little or no planning for military operations with the result that, in the words of one French military officer, "we were forced to craft operations on the fly with little or no pre-planning or pre-coordination. We did some on our own but until the authorization for action was in place, we could not mobilize assets."

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My Comment: What is revealing about this report on the French is that they are blunt on the limited role that US forces played in the Libyan operations ....

.... Finally, the American contribution was much more limited than it needed to be. Another officer said "We had 4-5 areas to cover for the air operation; the Americans provided only two UAVs – Predators - which operated for only part of the day. We need to augment our own capabilities to be sure, but......"

News and info that I am sure that the handlers in the White House do not want to be widely disseminated.