Re: Opportunity to do what?
With the consent of the Arab League and other allies regarding the no fly zone, active aggressive talks and implementing a plan could have put a scare into Gaddafi and most surely the Libyan air force pilots without actually having to destroying their air defense systems. If Gaddafi calls the worlds bluff, then we go in.
I would rather have to deal with the rebels being armed than the thought of Gaddafi gaining confidence as a leader and resuming nuclear ambitions and using it as a bargining tool.