The Pentagon can also move unmanned drones to the region to collect intelligence, jam communications between Qaddafi and his forces.
Using electronic equipment to jam communications between Qaddafi and his followers seems like a no-brainer move for the US military, but there is a risk associated with that, too. “Because you don’t have a perfectly clear picture of who’s who, you could end up jamming and disrupting people you don’t want to disrupt” – namely rebel groups fighting Qaddafi, says Raymond of the US Army War College.
There are also intelligence assets to pick up Qaddafi’s chatter with his forces, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drones to gather video to be used as evidence for war crimes prosecutions at the International Criminal Court, says Mr. Fontaine of the Center for a New American Security.
“One of the threats that we should be making right now is saying, ‘Look, you’re going to be held accountable for every single thing that happens, including targeting protesters – that’s where our ISR capabilities can come into play in a major way,” he adds.
Indeed, intervening in crimes against humanity is a role that the US military is increasingly willing to take on, according to the Pentagon’s 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, which for the first time emphasizes the Pentagon’s role in being able to respond to crimes against humanity.
The Pentagon has also established a new mass atrocity prevention and response operations (MAPRO) office, which could conceivably help to establish humanitarian corridors for fleeing Libyan refugees, perhaps in partnership with Egyptian forces, says Raymond. “I think it may be worth exploring.”
