I hope, with all my heart, that you are right, Pima.
Past experiences show that our global allies are happy to pull back and force us to take the brunt of the cost and military action. This is surely for their oil, not ours. Let us hope this will soon be a distant memory.
Ghaddafi's son was taken out by a Libyan pilot on a suicide mission, or so it has been reported. The pilot supposedly crashed the jet into the combat command.
We can all play ignorant, but it is for oil. The fact is oil is a global issue. We can all complain about 4 bucks a gallon, in a recession, however, the UK and France are paying close to 10. We are not leading here, we are supporting our Allies. France and the UK are the ones that dragged us into this. We are there for the global political allies.
I may be naive, but I do believe Obama is going to pull us back as soon as he can. The reason I say this is because I believe Obama wants to be re-elected, he can't afford to keep us there for an extended period of time 18 months out from re-election. He will do everything to save his hide. That means getting in an out quickly with no loss of American lives.
I bet this a.m. he was sweating bullets due to the crash of the Strike Eagle. He was already being attacked by both sides...going in (left), waiting too long (right). Thankfully the pilot and wso were rescued, because doing a news conference in SA discussing the loss of 2 AF officers over the no-fly zone while he danced with kids in Chile and Rio would politically damage him.
Hats off to the left. They beat Bush up for the Iraq invasion and they are showing that the initial D or R doesn't matter. They will call either side just as quick.
As a wife who was married to an F15E WSO for 13+ yrs...THANK YOU MARINES, THANK YOU for rescuing our AF.
-- Edited by pima on Tuesday 22nd of March 2011 09:04:19 AM
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
Actually, no one is a direct threat to us. We're the most powerful military the world has ever seen, among droopy eyed armless children (if I may borrow Sheen's term :P), and yet we still feel the need to invade every country that looks at us the wrong way. I guess power can make you a bit paranoid.
President Obama has placed the UN over the US Constitution.
He has to be impeached and removed from office or every man and woman in the Congress has violated their oath of office.
Lol. The sad thing is, our congressman would be doing the same thing I'm doing if you told them that - laughing out loud.
Members of the Arab League have also expressed skepticism. There were several calls from some members of the Arab League this weekend to stop the strikes, given reports of civilian deaths being broadcast by Libyan state TV. The United Arab Emirates, which was to be a key participant, has decided not to send military aircraft
-- Edited by poetgrl on Monday 21st of March 2011 08:37:49 PM
"Well, we're in Libya because of oil. And I think both Japan and the nuclear technology and Libya and this dependence that we have upon imported oil have both once again highlighted the need for the United States to have a renewable energy agenda going forward," Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) said on MSNBC.
Since the Russians and Chinese seem to have hedged their contractual opportunities and we've left the leading to the French and Brits, I can't see who's left in Libya that might sign an exploitation agreement with us.
-- Edited by catahoula on Monday 21st of March 2011 02:08:16 PM
The news is now reporting that the success of the mission has been so well that they are now going to expand it further to Tripoli, and if news reports are correct we will remove our forces and leave it to Britain or France to maintain once the dust has settled.
If this is true, Obama will be seen as great re:military strategy. However, if it is protracted and one American dies Obama's re-election will be in jeopardy.
This is going to be a make or break moment for Obama.
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Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree
Liberal Democrats are now criticizing the President. What has the world come to when I am now agreeing with liberal Democrats? I have to give Dennis Kucinich credit. At least he is consistent.
Just typical. So many of those countries just want to complain and criticize (did they really think there wouldn't be civilian deaths when you're dropping bombs)? They want everyone else to do the heavy lifting, in their neck of the world, but they don't want to lift a finger to take any physical or financial responsibility. Wait and see, they're going to start whining about western imperialism and arrogance soon enough.
------------- Clinton stayed out of the fray, repeating the administration's position that all options are on the table but not specifically endorsing any particular step. She also did not voice support for stronger action in the near term, such as a no-fly zone or military aid to the rebels, both diplomats said.
"The way the U.S. acted was to let the Germans and the Russians block everything, which announced for us an alignment with the Germans as far as we are concerned," one of the diplomats told The Cable.
Clinton's unwillingness to commit the United States to a specific position led many in the room to wonder exactly where the administration stood on the situation in Libya.
"Frankly we are just completely puzzled," the diplomat said. "We are wondering if this is a priority for the United States."
On the same day, Clinton had a short meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in which Sarkozy pressed Clinton to come out more forcefully in favor of action in Libya. She declined Sarkozy's request, according to a government source familiar with the meeting. -------------
Is it possible that we could have an extremely limited role in this, just another one of a coalition, sending in a couple of cruise missles here and there? Or is it more likely that we'll get stuck with the bill, the responsibility, the sacrifice in blood and cash....begging others to come on and chip in a little more? I, for one, am sick of us paying the costs, particularly when we aren't even sure of what the outcome could be or if it would be positive for us. Why the crap aren't the Middle Eastern countries taking more of an active role instead of just urging others to do things? Or maybe I need to turn on the news and see the Saudis flying those new fighters over Libya, protecting the civilians (yeah right).
Call me cynical, but this just could be such an ugly quagmire. And for this statement, "I'm trying really hard to think in terms of realpolitik and all I can come up with is: helping or staying out of the way of Quadaffi earns the US nothing other than the gratitude of somone we should be trying to kill, while the contrary earns us the uncertain gratitude of US haters that will simply cut lucrative deals with the French and Brits"----I think you got that right. It seems like lose/lose, no matter what we do. I hope that is wrong!
Well, I suppose reasonable people can disagree as to whether or not it is/was a good idea to get involved in the Libyan civil situation, depending on whether you believe these interventions work or not, but I don't think reasonable people can disagree that if we were going to do this we should have done it faster.
My biggest fear, at this point, is that we get involved in some long drawn out unwinnable situation where we are defending people who really actually hate us. See: afghanistan.
My husband believes we had no choice but to go since Britain always goes with us. So, there is that. But, at least we should be saying, "We are going because we are supporting our great consistent allies, the British." There are reasons for that, in our own national interest.
I still hate the french. Love france, hate the french.
I have come to believe our leadership, both political and business, liberal and conservative, are actually quite intelligent but are no longer on the "side of the American people".
where is the "no blood for oil" crowd? Where are all the Hollywood types when you need them?
By creating a no-fly zone, America has placed its personal reputation on the line. If the rebels lose America's reputation is diminished. That means the rebels cannot lose and America will do what ever is necessary to make sure they win. Making sure the rebels win means sending in covert operations teams at a minimum. That means Americans will die for rebels who will probably establish an Iran style theocracy that hates the West even more than did Qaddafi. The American people are stupid and we are led by an idiot.
-- Edited by Razorsharp on Saturday 19th of March 2011 05:56:38 AM
I'm trying really hard to think in terms of realpolitik and all I can come up with is: helping or staying out of the way of Quadaffi earns the US nothing other than the gratitude of somone we should be trying to kill, while the contrary earns us the uncertain gratitude of US haters that will simply cut lucrative deals with the French and Brits.
Besides being cheaper, a cruise missle would avoid the meaningless smooches.
I don't know who is pushing for boots on the ground. I heard the rebels were complaining that a no fly zone would have been okay two weeks ago, but now they would need more. I thought, seriously? You cannot really be asking us for this when you hate us. But, yeah, okay.
If they want boots on the ground and it has to do with big oil in Lybia? the boots had better be british.
Big oil usually finds a way to make a buck, regardless whether its a tribal chieftan or a Harvard educated MBA reneging on contractural terms. Little oil just basks in world events that drive up prices.
I don't watch CNN, or really any tv, so I have to ask: who is pushing for "boots on the ground"? Exxon?
-- Edited by catahoula on Friday 18th of March 2011 08:57:20 PM
If we put boots on the ground in Lybia? I will be the one you read about in the news whose head has completely exploded. You will know my identity. "Woman's Head Explodes in Chicago, Cause Unknown."
It's hard to argue with those who feel that no matter who ends up in charge, the country is still going to suck. Not to mention the costs in trying to determine specifically which Western-hating rabble-rouser ends up on the top of the heap.
OTOH, Quadaffi has enough American blood on his hands that I can't see why we can't take a little bit of Reagan and little more of Clinton and do him up both right and on the cheap.
As far as I'm concerned he's been living on borrowed time ever since Ronnie Ray-Gun missed him with that airstrike and Clinton proved, with that cruise missile on the Chinese consulate in Belgrade?, that we could always just explain it away as a bad GPS coordinate, an old map, whatever.
There's nothing to suggest that his opponents are in any way better than him. We could be sacrificing US lives so that he gets replaced by another one of Iran's proxies like a Hamas or a Hezbollah. We should just keep our nose, fingers, and toes well clear of this.
I know. I honestly cannot believe we have allowed ourselves to be bullied into this by FRANCE, of all the double dealing NATO members. Freedom fries, anyone?
There's nothing to suggest that his opponents are in any way better than him. We could be sacrificing US lives so that he gets replaced by another one of Iran's proxies like a Hamas or a Hezbollah. We should just keep our nose, fingers, and toes well clear of this.
it looks like Qaddafi says he has stopped military operations. He is probably lying. Even if he has stopped using his Air Force, he will send his troops in on the ground to kill everyone who opposes them. The conflict will simply last longer. I just hope we do not have to read about American service member dying over there.
We should not be sending our pilots on missions like this because of the will of other countries. We are not some world police force. When our own generals think it is a bad idea, we should not do it.
Plus, I can't stand the countries who we are doing this for, the exact same ones who finance schools of "hate the US," right down to France, who would not support us for one second if it wasn't "about" their national interest. Unbelievable.
-- Edited by poetgrl on Thursday 17th of March 2011 08:43:02 PM
We have no business in that war. It is another mistake. We will help depose a dictator which leads to the installation of another iranian style theocracy which hates us and israel.
Do you really believe the US should be the one enforcing a no-fly zone over Lybia, anyway? No.
We need to do what China has done. Pull back, defend our own borders and rebuild our country. No more free police force.
In our town, if the ambulance has to come get you, you have to pay. It's lose-lose for us to go in and "help" in mideast. Let them manage their own world and drill oil here.
General Wesley Clark (retired) had an opinion piece in a fairly big paper the other day (maybe the WaPo) that argued strongly against the no fly zone.
If they want a no fly zone, maybe they should get a coalition of the willing. Or let the EU create one. Hell, I'm sure France has enough plans to enforce a no fly zone by itself.
-- Edited by soccerguy315 on Wednesday 16th of March 2011 07:54:20 PM
So, if a no-fly zone is created over Libya, with France being the primary force pushing for this no-fly zone, who will be expected to enforce it?
I'm not interested in other countries being allowed to put our pilots at risk because of their agendas. NOTE: Britain and France are the primary movers here, and they are also the primary consumers of Libyan oil, not to mention the release of the lockerbie bomber......