The President is under withering criticism from many quarters for the strange dealings over Libya. The London Telegraph tries valiantly to make sense of it in a way that is at least somewhat sympathetic, saying the Mr. Obama is just being deliberative. No cowboy he.

Maybe so. So here is a way Mr. Obama might be justified. Maybe the reason he is for "defending civilians" as a military objective, and for Gaddafi leaving as a political objective (but note, not as a military objective) is that the White House is working behind the scenes to persuade Col. Gaddafi to depart the country for exile somewhere else. That would saveLibyan lives, presumably. Maybe Robert Mugabe would accept him and his kin in Zimbabwe, the way Gaddafi (briefly) took in Ugandan strongman Idi Amin in 1979. Mugabe is one of Gaddafi's few remaining fans.

A peaceful end for Gaddafi also would reassure his supporters, who include his tribesmen and many army officers, and might prevent a civil war. The way might be open then for peacekeepers, interim government, consultations, constitutional reforms, etc.

If this is President Obama's script, then good for him. I hope it works, but time is short.

If that is not the behind-the-scenes rationale, then I just have to shake my head and agree that the Obama Administration is really confused.