War is a moral commitment reasoned upon self defense.

According to Saint Augustine. The burden is upon us to justify the risking and taking of human lives.

We are at war. There are seven million Libyans. They live under conditions similar to Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu. They live on the coasts. Unlike Afghanistan, our supply lines are relatively short, and we can use seaports. Let's hope this campaign is decisive without ground troops as we were in Serbia in 1999, but if you break something, you have to pay for it. Let's not kid ourselves. We need to define victory in order to achieve it.

We are providing most of the firepower, money, and risk, yet we do not want to be seen as the brains and brawn in these acts of war against Libya. President Barack Obama has treated this war in Libya as if he were a hospital administrator rather than a doctor.

I was critical of President George Bush's failure to define the "war on terror," and the current war suffers the same problems. More from David Warren.