http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42124388/ns/world_new…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703…
UN approves a no-fly zone above Libya, as well as airstrikes against Gadhaffi. Of course, there's no doubt that the US will be spearheading this effort even if UK and France are involved.
WSJ says this: "Washington, however, was reluctant for any military operation in Libya to be seen as American-led", but given that US is the biggest contributor to both the UN and NATO in terms of military assets (I may be wrong here) I don't think it's possible for US to take a back seat role to other countries. Perception-wise, maybe. In reality, I don't think so.
Any thoughts?
fuck no, fuck no, and fuck no. If the U.S. spearheads this I will vote against any motherfucker that agrees with it.
We are supposed to be there by tomorrow. I think this is good
they say 'within hours' actually
Oil reserves in Libya are the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world with 41.5 billion barrels
Road trip?
I think a road trip would be a good investment.
hmm
Italy will let us use their airfield. Need to act before benghazi starts getting bombed
Not really sure why Italy or France can't handle this one without the US. It's not like they have no air force.
We are bad at targeting land targets
We are bad at targeting land targets
This is a good idea, think Kurdistan '92 on a massive scale but this time we're doing the right thing. The only reason the US shouldn't publicly 'lead' it, even though we RUN it, is so the blowback isn't directed against us. Oil isn't the only concern here, it's a big one, but not the only and certainly not the biggest.
Why doesn't Iraq or Afghanistan 'lead' it? Iraq's function is analagous to Poland in the Cold War. Shit, this is common sense and should be the primary reason why we support them at this point - to promote democracy in the region.
I think we(uk/europe) should try to lead it. Will help to make up for all of the support we gave him
I understand these are obviously difficult decisions to make...
But if there was going to be a no fly zone enacted... I don't see why we had to wait until now to enact it. By now, Libyan rebels have taken large losses and many in Gaddafi's army who were borderline defections decided not to defect (as they didn't want to be on the wrong side of the victor) So an earlier declaration of a now fly zone would've gone against a much weaker Gaddafi opposition.
Basically making our efforts in Libya more difficult than they need to be.
Also note that Russia, China, Germany, Brazil, and India (literally all the BRIC countries) chose to abstain.
Nothing like waiting until after the rebels have been slaughtered. Obama had Pick his bracket first.
Do you think that those untrained, poorly equipped and undisciplined rebels could have possibly held off Libya's professional army? I have seen pictures of rebels firing mausers, not exactly special forces. A no fly zone wouldn't have even slowed down Libya's military since almost all the combat has been on foot.
Why are we going to support the losers now. If Gaddafi wins, he will get the region and his allies to go against us, if the rebels somehow win (bleaker prospects every day) they will prob resent the U.S. for waiting so long.
eh, they were going to resent us anyway. two weeks ago, they didn't want the US anywhere near Libya. A week ago, they still didn't want american intervention, but wanted a no-fly zone. Now, they want us to use air power to take out Gaddafi's tanks and artillery. A week from now, after we've wiped out Gaddafi, they're going to want us as far away as possible again.
How about letting Europe do something for once.
Something like looking for non existing WMDs for seven years, for example?
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/149095-defense-think-tank-libyan-no-fl…
we better get repaid in oil once this is finished for helping save their asses
Motherfucker.
Gotta love it. Europe is being invade with illegal immigrants and they are going nuts. They wait and wring their hands while a dictator slaughters people. The world condems the USA for everything, but once again, here the USA comes, saving the day.
Socialism is great until you have to do anything that involves a set of balls. Pussies.
Let Europe rot. We should be sending rafts to Libya to help more of them go to Europe. A taste of their own medicine.
USA supported a dictator for decades because cold war imperatives gave us no choice and then we did nothing to right this wrong for two decades. Why would we not jump at the chance to remove him? I'm beginning to doubt that the USA actually cares about anything other than money. Put the partisan politics aside.
Obama, these people need help; what happens if they lose now?
Is there something wrong with you in the head? Do you actually read past the Fox News headlines? The UK and France were the ones who spearheaded this effort. THEY are the ones sending in the first war planes.
You Americans really do live in your own bubble. LOL
Actually, in the current stage of the opperation it is an American sperheaded event. American tomahawks, American bombers, American fighter/bombers, and French fighter/bombers. You tell me who is throwing the most muscle behind the opperation before you make ridiclous statements. I do agree with you that France and the UK were calling for an attack before the US was but it wasnt untill the US stepped up did NATO, UN, or anyone in Europe actually have the balls to throw the 1st stone.
hahaha I'm from the southeast, born and raised and I've never heard anyone talk so much garbage about foreign policy.
Check out Reuters, AP or BBC News once in a while. Fox News isn't news.
.
What a joke. The only thing worth a damn in all of Libya is their oil reserves. Why should the USA take a side or assist the "rebels" in any way? Qaddafi, while being a lunatic, is currently not a supporter of terror. He is the glue that holds his country together. Getting rid of his stabilizing influence will lead to doom for the people in Libya as it dissolves into civil war between its disparate tribes. It could possibly even turn into a vacuum that could be filled by terrorists.
Bush would have kill him already. This is what happens when you elect a kenyan socialist.
Bush/Rumsfeld 2012
Like that time I killed bin Laden in Iraq. Oh wait...
Out of curiosity Anthony, have you ever left the North American continent? I know you've never spent a day serving your country so that rules out any of the more 'interesting' places but you might want to consider getting some perspective outside of the US. Historically the US has always done a really bad job in these types of situations. You can't give people a democracy who aren't ready for one and expect it to work. On the flip side when young majorities are clamoring for democracy and we sit back and let them get slaughtered we are not acting like the America we used to be. In the 1950s Ho Chi Minh pleaded for US support to get rid of the French (diplomatic pressure) and he played the star spangled banner at the signing of their own version of the declaration of independence. At this point he wasn't even a hard line communist and think how differently things would have been if we didn't have a bunch of retarded ideologues in the State Department. My guess is 50,000 American men would still be alive and my Dad wouldn't have recurring nightmares. The world that I want to live in is one where the United States helps countries where a vast majority of its people are standing up to tyranny. A world where people have a deep respect for the US not only for what it does but also what it stands for. Had you ever spent a day in uniform I suspect you'd understand the desire to be a bulwark against mass murder. As it is you come off as some narrow minded blow hard who enjoys a great deal of freedom because 100-150 years before your family got off a boat from Italy a major world power stood with colonists against their oppressors. Sure the French wanted to stick to the British after the French and Indian war but who says doing the right thing can't also be good for the ego, pocket book or oil supply.
More on topic, from what I can gleam US participation is about as small as it could be given the tactical situation. We are the only country that has the capability to smash a hardened air defense grid in a matter of hours so it makes sense that we handle that. Most of the additional sorties and killbox operations are being flown by the French and British. After all the French are the third largest arms seller/producer in the world behind the US and China. They have a right to test out their toys from time to time just like us.
The lesson you should take away from this is that the UN SUCKS. I also find it funny that a civil war in a....
Third world country- HOW Dare he use the military against his people!!!! He should step down and have a complete overthrow of the government.
First world country- rebels are terrorists, revolutionaries, We must preserve the union. If 50% of the US decided to rebel, Washington would sure as hell bomb the shit outta them and use every means possible to regian lost territory.
It's stupid as hell to get involved. Gaddafi's won at this point, ad with all his precious oil he will be right back where he was before. We just have all been reminded, that our friendly neighborhood dictator from the 80's has NOT changed his stripes.
This, combined with the Japanese earthquake, may mark the end of this financial crisis. Good work buddies!
Early to judge but seems to have worked, Libya has declared a ceasefire
Maybe the West should mind its own business for once.
Europe happens to sit North of this South.
Benghazi attacked
Guess the most probable result is a split Libya with the rebels controlling the east part and the colonel controlling the west part.
I am not really a Bush fan, but I bet he wouldn't have pussied out and would have just bombed the Gaddafi compound. Personally I consider the "human shields" he is employing enemy combatants.
Can someone who follows this more than I do explain what our GOAL in Libya is?? Is it to get rid of Qaddafi in a backhanded way? Is it to level the playing field and let the two sides duke it out? In that case, would we be fine with a Qaddafi victory? I don't understand what the goal is. The Allies say they are trying to protect civilians - but they are proactively destroying Libyan tanks and vehicles that are necessary for actual ground combat. There is a civil war going on after all, no? I don't condone massacre of innocent civilians, but taking away all of the fighting capabilities of one side while maintaining the pretense of neutrality isn't exactly "fair." Stop the BS and just come out and say you want to get rid of Qaddafi - and then we can have another US Airforce/Northern Alliance vs. Taliban situation.
This is exactly what Congress and the rest of the U.S. is trying to figure out...
It's all Bush's fault. Oh wait, this is Obama doing this.
Man oh man, hope sure looks like the last 8 years lol.
My problem with this situation is it isn't our fight and I'm growing tired of being lambasted as warmongers and imperialists for doing what I personally feel is right. This world would be drastically different if not for the sacrifices of millions of Americans...and different in a worse way. The US, time and time again, has busted open the piggy bank and offered up the freedom and liberty of it's citizens in an effort to do the 'right thing'. If it wasn't for the US, nearly all the WSO in Europe wouldn't be reading this right now because it's in English, not German.
We aren't perfect, but we try. We sacrifice greatly to make this world a better place and it has always gone unrewarded. I'm beginning to think we should mind our own business and take care of our problems internally and let the world come beg for our assistance, then and only then they might learn that you don't bite the hand that feeds you.
On a lighter note, Obama is nothing more than a hypocritical bag of hot air...
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-president-does-not-have-power-unde
Regards
I totally agree with this, I wonder how these middle east dictatorships are going to hold up with no income source outside of oil when the oil runs out.
But equally without Europe the US would never have existed too.
Terrible attempt at reasoning.
Regards
I've said it for a while now - fuck Europe; we should fix our relationships with China and Russia, and let the countries that actually matter make decisions. The UK is OK.
Here's another example of how the US "isn't" spearheading this operation...the combined military powers of Europe would barely be capable of taking care of this situation...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/84…
Ohh, and it appears VP Biden is going to have his hands full in the immediate future...
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Adpa5kYUhCA
Regards
Yes this is a great idea, I predict that it will turn out just as well as the no fly zone in Iraq did...anyone remember that one or are you guys all to young?
Also anyone have any idea what we are going to to do once Ghaddaffi is gone? Haven't we seen this movie before?
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