"Another fine kettle of fish you've gotten us into."
Remember when President Obama told us that the war in Libya would be over in days not weeks? That was weeks ago. Yesterday, our Secretary of State took her never-ending flight around the world to Berlin, where she met with British and French foreign ministers to bicker over that scrimmage going on in Libya that now looks like it will go into months.
To review, the NATO allies agree that they are enforcing a humanitarian mandate from the UN to protect innocent Libyan civilians from Ghaddafi's forces with a no-fly zone and targeted strikes. The mission is not to topple Ghaddafi though Clinton et al agree that it would be "hard to imagine a free and democratic Libya with Ghaddfi still in power. The US has reiterated that "it will not rest" until the Libyan people are free to choose their own future".
The allies want more US involvement with air strikes and no-fly zone participation. The Americans say they have enough. The Germans say they are happy to host the conference, but if they can't invade France, they will keep their own military safe and snug in the Black Forest.
And so it goes.
So, as the weeks drag into months, the rag-tag forces of the opposition climb into their pick up trucks with the shot gun racks mounted in the rear and drive up and down MCH (That's the Mediteranean Coast Highway for all you UC Santa Cruz Community Studies majors), and play destruction derby with the Libyan armed forces. In reality, it's like an Italian soccer match as both sides move back and forth with no real intention of scoring between Benghazi and Tripoli and Muammar Ghaddafi goes increasingly insane.
Like everybody else in this farce.
6 comments:
Wouldn't this be a perfect place for the French close order drill graphic?
When it comes down to it, our European allies depend on the US for all the heavy lifting in any military operation. We have been protecting them for decades so they have spent a minimum amount on their own defense. They may have a crack unit here or there and a great marching band but as a military force, they are pathetic. It was the US military that was able to rain down over a hundred missiles when needed in a day over Libya, despite our involvement in two other wars with Islamic terrorists.
I agree with the view that, with the exception of waste, duplication, and mismanagement, dollars spent on defense are not wasted. The stronger the US military is, the fewer direct military challenges there will be. That saves the enormous cost in lives and treasure of big wars. Enemies will be forced to use subversion and sabotage, which we also have to combat with adequate funding.
As Defense Secretary Gates said this past week, the less money they have, the fewer missions, options, and alternatives they can develop.
I'm all for a stronger military and less welfare. Take your best shot.
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The rumor is that we will be deploying ground troops in a week or two. Just for a short time they say.
3rd war to go hot.
Weeks not months.
Obviously, we should have stood back, allowed Qadaffi's mercenaries to slaughter large numbers of civilians, then settle down to run his little fief, probably also intervening in Tunisia and Egypt. You love to carp about whatever the President of the United States is doing, but what exactly would you have done about Libya, if anything?
Siarlys, when are you going to give up fighting windbags? You're a brave man.
Ingrid, over time, I find occasions when I congratulate Gary on an astute observation, when Findalis says "hell has frozen over - I find myself agreeing with Siarlys," or when Gary says I hit a home run. I find it is a good challenge to engage the people I find here. If helps to sharpen my understanding of why I believe what I believe, and I learn to consider and answer what are, by and large, sincere if misguided observations.
Perhaps it comes from living in the midwest. When I drove a bus, (no fixed routes) I observed neighborhoods all over the county during elections. I saw that mostly, signs for one candidate went up right next door to signs for the other candidate. We all have to live with each other here. There is no such illusion as "I don't know how that man won, nobody I know voted for him." We all know lot's of people who for some reason voted the other way. I bet Findalis does too.
I grew up with that. As a child, my idea of a Halloween prank was to decorate the home of my mother's best friend with Democratic campaign signs (no glue or nails involved). She knew who it was, and she laughed.
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