I have just returned from Jebel Nafusa, a mountainous plateau in north-western Libya that constitutes, after Misrata in the east and Brega even further east, the third front of the war in Libya. What I saw leads me to challenge more strongly than ever the oddly defeatist declarations that have emanated from Washington, London and Paris in recent weeks.

They tell us, for example, of a rebel army that is disorganised, ill-prepared for combat, undisciplined. On the Gualich front, which is its first line of attack against Muammer Gaddafi’s forces, I have witnessed just the opposite: about 50 well-trained men, supervised by former servicemen who have defected and are proud to have retaken the 60km, separating them from the regional command base, in 10 days. In short it is the opposite of a quagmire.

The defeatists also tell us that these fighters cannot see beyond the boundaries of their villages, and are incapable of the physical and political unity that could lead to the conquest of Tripoli. Yet whether in Arab country or Berber, one sees and hears something very different: a rebellion whose objective is Tripoli; tribal chiefs for whom Libyan unity has become an imperative; officers perfectly aware of the fact that this goal is attainable only in close co-ordination with Nato’s operational commanders. Once again, this is nothing like the disorder, the improvisation, and the “tribal mindset” we keep hearing about.