From James Joyner, the National Interest:  There are twenty-six other militaries in NATO. Fourteen spent more than Libya’s $1.5 billion on defense in 2010 , according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. France and the UK each spent forty times that.

Let’s just say that the deck was somewhat stacked in NATO’s favor.

To be sure, the bar has been lowered by critics such as the estimable George Will, who wrote off NATO as a "Potemkin alliance" in June and declared "NATO may be expiring in North Africa" three days before the rebels took Tripoli.

Image: nato%202%208%2011%20Anders%20Fogh%20Rasmussen.jpg