I thought that Colonel Gaddafi’s regime would have collapsed by now (see Libya’s Ceauşescu moment?). Libyan diplomats across the globe were defecting from the regime, and some of the army units had also joined the protesters. I was in hope that more army units would join the opposition, and that a sufficient number of people would have more to lose by serving the Colonel Gaddafi until the bitter end, therefore convince him to leave or remove him one way or another.
However, the regime has not gone away, and it seems to be on the counter-offensive in some areas. Whether by loyalty, fear or greed, Colonel Gaddafi has managed to retain a large number of soldiers / thugs / murderers / mercenaries willing to do his bidding. He probably does not have sufficient resources at the moment to retake the regions he has so far lost, however there is a terrible possibility of a protracted civil war.
A direct military intervention on the part of the ‘West’ is probably neither in the offing nor desirable, however indirect support should be afforded to the anti-Gaddafi forces. Otherwise, the situation may come to resemble what happened in Iraq after the First Gulf War: Saddam Hussein survived, and put down the Shia uprising in the south ruthlessly and bloodily.