The events in Syria have put Libya on a back burner but on even on the back burner things tend to heat up to a decision point.
Both sides are playing a waiting game.
NATO is hoping that either a NATO plane will win by eliminating Qaddafi himself or that members of the Libyan dictator's entourage will oblige them by eliminating Qaddafi.
Qaddafi has also chosen to outwait his opponents. He hopes that NATO will make some unforced errors such as a bombing or missile strike that will produce enough grisly footage of civilian casualties. This will provoke a major world outcry calling for a cessation of the bloodshed (the war has already claimed 20,000 deaths) thus giving traction to mediation efforts that will keep him in power indefinitely.
Alternatively, he is hoping that enthusiasm and support for the war in the Western capitals will erode, making the West eager for mediation with the same results.
With no ability to discern whether Qaddafi's confederates are hatching a plot against him last week's events tended to be positive for Qaddafi. The major defection that NATO could point to concerned the Libyan national football team. In an African football powerhouse such as Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast or Cameroon this would be a major event. The Libyan 11 cannot presume to such a status.
Qaddafi gained time as NATO missile strikes produced collateral damage killing noncombatants. This was enough to get the Italian Foreign Minister Frattini to call for a cease-fire and aid corridors. The Arab League via its Secretary General Amr Moussa, a putative Egyptian presidential candidate expressed displeasure.
NATO protested that Qaddafi was siting his artillery positions near mosques and schools. However, once the global humanitarians have accustomed the media that such practices, when implemented by Hamas, were legitimate (rather than constituting a clear breach of the Geneva Convention) NATO found itself in an information bind.
In the House of Representatives the Obama administration sustained a rebuke because Barack Obama refuses to call the operation a war and has therefore not approached Congress for approval.
The legislative branch, zealous of its prerogatives, fired a shot across the presidential bow. Additionally, public opinion polls show that a majority of American respondents have turned against the war.
Last week China decided to mediate by hosting the Benghazi insurgents in China. You could interpret this as China wanting to be covered in case they win . Another interpretation is that China, sensing fatigue on both sides, views this as an opportune moment to intervene.
The African Union expects greater receptivity for its mediation efforts now that both sides are in a stalemate. A major boost to the coalition and the original United Nations Security Council Resolution was the support from African and Arab countries. Once that support is withdrawn things will get much harder.