Britain already has an estimated 100 special forces operating in Libya, and are one of several Western nations which have sent some preliminary ground troops into Libya in anticipation of a much bigger ground war there. That could be coming very soon.

New reports emerging this weekend suggest Britain is willing to provide up to 1,000 ground troops to an overall, Italy-led European invasion of Libya, one which Italy envisions would be about 6,000 troops overall, and endorsed by the Tripoli-based UN-backed "unity government."

The "unity" government is not backed by either of the existing Libyan parliaments, nor does it have any meaningful support within Libya. Still, Western nations have seen the group as a key to presenting their long-planned intervention in Libya as requested by the local government.