Stumbling into the Libyan War
We again find ourselves at war with a Middle Eastern dictator. How did it get here? Last month, the Libyan people rebelled against their 42-year oppressor, Col. Muammar Gaddafi. The rebels liberated most of their country and were on the verge of overthrowing their tyrant; all that was needed was a bit of air support for the final push into the capital Tripoli. But we waited more than a month for France, Britain, the UN, and the Arab League to lead. In that time, Gaddafi used his air force to crush the uprising, reclaim the liberated territory, and encircle the rebels in the city of Benghazi.
So in the eleventh hour we have decided to bomb Libya.
What is the mission? What are our objectives? The public is in the dark. Barely anyone has mentioned how Congress hasn’t debated or authorized any of this. Secretary of State Clinton is reportedly furious with the administration’s dithering. Vice President Biden, the purported foreign policy expert, is missing in action. And President Obama is away touring South America. The whole scene is very strange and a bit surreal. We have stumbled into war and it feels as though the intervention is both belated and haphazardly rushed at the same time. I can’t recall anything quite like this.
There is no doubt Muammar Gaddafi should go. He has for decades killed Americans and brutalized millions. His regime has 1) repeatedly been aggressive against neighbors; 2) sheltered internationally wanted terrorists; 3) violated non-proliferation treaties and pursued illicit unconventional weapons; 4) committed gross human rights violations on a massive scale — the four reasons, according to international law, that a state forfeits its sovereignty. Gaddafi’s downfall would be a deliverance.
Furthermore, the issue is not so much about justifying our present actions by citing Gaddafi’s past actions, but rather acknowledging the fact that, should Gaddafi survive this confrontation with the West, he will emerge an international outlaw as emboldened as ever. Libya will become chief global pariah — the North Korea of North Africa.
But overthrowing Gaddafi does not seem to be the objective. It’s unclear. At the beginning of the month, weeks before our intervention, President Obama declared Gaddafi must step down. Now that we have intervened, Obama has said, “We are not going to use force to go beyond a well-defined goal — specifically, the protection of civilians in Libya.” Well, protection from whom? Gaddafi, of course. The war strategy seems an inherent contradiction.
Hours after bombing Gaddafi’s compound the Pentagon released a statement saying we didn’t really mean it. “At this particular point, I can guarantee that he’s not on a targeting list,” Vice Admiral Bill Gortney said of Gaddafi. So we’re not going to kill Gaddafi? Gortney’s response: “If he happens to be in a place — if he’s inspecting a surface-to-air missile site, [and] we don’t have any idea that he’s there or not — then, yeah.” Secretary of Defense Gates has called the idea of targeting Gaddafi “unwise.” Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said the war is “not about seeing [Gaddafi go]” but “about supporting the United Nations resolution which talked about eliminating his ability to kill his own people.” This comes weeks after the national intelligence director predicted Gaddafi’s victory over the rebels.
So we are going after Gaddafi’s residences but not Gaddafi himself. This whole thing is bizarre.
The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin’, bullets loadin’
You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’
You don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’
And even the Nile River has bodies floatin’
But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
Obama’s sitting here just vacilatin’
He twist the truth, and knows no regulation.
Wisconsin of senators (D) Won’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring unionisatin’
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Think of all the hate there is in Obama
Then take a look around to his D Congressmana
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
of destruction.
Obama, communist revolutionary and firebrand, might be trying to extinguish the conflagration he helped to ignite. By fomenting the overthrow of Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, Obama helped set in motion forces of chaos which no mortal can control or predict. Well, since the ME always is lurching from bad to worse, we can predict that whatever comes next will be worse than what he set ablaze.
Obama, political coward and incompetent extraordinaire, does not want the blame for the entire ME clusterf#ck laid at his feet. Too late jackass!
Sadly, America will long pay for what this obscene POS has done. But he will hit the speaking/think tank/golf link circuit with that hefty haunchy termagant at his side.
Nice job!
You forgot to add all the favor$ he has accrued.
“Should Gaddafi cling to power, Libya will rejoin the ranks of Iran, Syria, and North Korea — the most hostile states in the world.”
This is the heart of it. Now that we’re in this mess, Gaddafi MUST die. If he somehow manages to hold on to power, you will see more Lockerbie bombings or other acts of terrorism against the west. I don’t know how the Navy or Air Force are going to do it, but they’re going to have to find a way to target and kill Gaddafi. And don’t be surprised if we already have some CIA or Special Ops forces already in Tripoli. Intel on Gaddafi has to be coming from somewhere, and it’s NOT coming from a plane or a drone at 30,000 feet. This is human intel that can only be obtained by assets on the ground, so don’t be surprised if you eventually start seeing some photographs surface of Special Forces troops from some western country (perhaps SAS from Britain) fighting with these Libyan “rebels.”
Obama also has to let us in on who these “rebels” are. Ironically, many jihadists that have fought in Iraq against American troops were from, wait for it, LIBYA. So many of these “rebels” fighting Gaddafi right now could be Islamists or Jihadists that were just killing American troops in Iraq a few months ago. We don’t know anything about these people and we are facing the very real possibility that we could be trying to replace Gaddafi with radical Islamists that are actually WORSE than Gaddafi.
This has been the most poorly thought out military operation since Carter’s attampt to rescue the American hostages in Iran. Well, this seems appropriate since we seem to be living through the second term of the Carter administration.
This war is a disaster. The main reason for it is that Europe does not want a flood of refugees fleeing Libya’s civil war. So we’ve been sucker-punched doing Europe’s “crowd control.” The “rebels” in the east are no freedom fighters. They are Islamofascists. The population of eastern Libya has contributed more terrorists to al Qaeda in Iraq and the Taliban, etc., in Afghanistan than any other Arab country. We either end up having to occupy and try to nation build — with an enormous wave of terror aimed at our troops, Europe and perhaps the U.S. itself — or we let the Islamonazis take over the country RIGHT NEXT TO EGYPT. Prior to this, Ghaddafi actually cooperated with us against al Qaeda. He hates al Qaeda because it is a challenge to his rule.
In the meantime…we are too distracted to deal with Iran which is creating havoc in the Persian Gulf as it gets closer to having nukes. We are probably so messed up from this involvement, it’s impacted the help we should be giving to Japanese survivors of the quake and tsunami.
This is worse than incompetence. It’s starting to look like civilizational suicide on our part. Certainly, it’s rapidly leading to the demise of anything even half-way manageable in the Mideast.
The reason are Armed Forces are in Libya now is for no other purpose than to save face for Obama.
In the same fly-off the lip fashion that he declared white cops are stupid Obama proclaimed that Gaddafi must step down and get out.
Within hours Gaddafi made a fool of Obama in front of the entire world by virtually eliminating the uprisings against him.
That was something that Obama could not let stand.
Regardless of the loss of American lives and spread of war that takes place now is for no other reason than Obama punishing Gaddafi to even the score.
The quality of the manure is directly proportional to the quality of the oats you feed to the horse.
America picked a real winner this time.
With typical professorial speed and academician deliberation, Obama failed to playing field for the rebels when it mattered. The delay ensured that our national treasure and blood would be spent on preventing Gaddaffi from bayoneting the the wounded.
While this may be an admirable act, it looks likely to leave Gaddaffi in office and to create a long term stalemate mission to continue that protection.
How did we get there? Stupidity.
Note to China: You know that $Trillion we recently borrowed from you? We just used it to blow up Libya. Suckers!
Information please, just who might those suckers be?
President Professor Dither was suckered into this no-goal no-win war by the State Department and his unwaivering belief system of everything Socialist-European is better. Quadaffi is a 40 year and 4 president problem who was being given the boot by his own countrymen who would turn that sand trap into a great unknown.
The State Department who has demonstrated a miserable and expensive record at nation building, joined and submitted to the UN, unconstitutionally bypassing congress. That puts us into the mysterious open society one world government that no one voted to enact. Already the Arab League and the Russians reversed their commitments to the Libyan effort and consequently frame the US as the imperialist goat with the smoking guns and defaulting balance of payments. Running away to Rio was the president-in-training pants only option to remain blameless. The spinmasters will try to sell war for humanatarian reasons while Hilliary gloats for her worldliness and the revenge of her presidential defeat. We get to pay the bills for the Great Deficit. Congress is not upset enough.
Biden is in a vault somewhere, having his sardonic grin fine tuned, and his hair and makeup freshened up. So, if anything happens to Obumbles, Biden can be immediately propped up like a cardboard President.
Barracky boy got involved in Libya, because he saw a way to ‘dis’ another one of Americas allies; Japan.
How could anyone, except this incompetent juvenile, take their focus off of a developing nuclear disaster?
How could anyone consider a rebel uprising against a known terrorist dictator as more worthy of assets, manpower, and materials, than an atomic disaster that will infect a huge portion of the planet and innumerable people?
How many “Waterloo’s” does Obama get? Is he trying to throw the entire country under the bus?
The producers of the movie series “Jackass” are getting a lot of material from Obumbles.
He is not trying, he has thrown the USA under the bus. Fiddling in Brazil as we burn.
Thank your neighbor for their “non racist”,”we want the cool guy”, “I hate Bush” etc.etc. vote.
The money we give these terrorist leaders to ‘prop’ them up. They ‘keep’ the money for their own use instead of helping their own people. These very people (in these countries) hate us. Even with the ‘Uniter of People’ ‘the one’, Obama as President they ‘still’ hate us.
They ‘cry for help’ American help! when their ‘terrorist leaders’ their true “Oppressors” continue to Abuse them even more by threatening them and killing them. The abuse could continue, but, maybe with a different crowd in power…if Kadaffy is killed or ousted… Be careful what you pray for.
These same people and leaders the Left/Progressives in America put on a Pedestal. And Americans Chant their ‘twisted rant’ we hate America. They hate the Bush’s of this planet. Do they now hate Obama? The America haters will never be satisfied. But, they still drive SUV’s, live in nice neighborhoods as opposed to shanty shacks, wear American made clothes, still use electricity as opposed to candles, use American made stuff, live near and shop at shopping malls… but they hate America… Hmmmm
Then the “Good Country” we ‘really are’, we help them. So, they (the rebels) can continue their Islamic Hate against the West? Plan their new attacks against the very people who help them? We must look like total idiots to the world…
Really what is our Objective in this new debacle we are in?
There are many factors regarding the unrest in the ME it’s hard to pinpoint a single reason because there are many reasons.
I could be wrong, and perhaps naive of me, but with the advent of the internet, and the access by many to much information, I tend to wonder if the unrest in these countries stems from people finally finding out some truths about their “leaders”. They (the people) have been left in the dark so long and fed so many lies and propaganda by their leaders… perhaps this unrest is a light bulb going off in many heads…I would like to think people are finally putting two and two together…One can hope can’t one?
The only, certain, long term effect of our illegal war on Libya will be the removal from power of Mr. Hussein Obama. It is possible that Qaddafi will survive; he has billions, no limit on his demonic actions, and faces a enemy who started out in a confused, and conflicted military effort.
Everything, and everybody, that Obama embraced, he has betrayed. The anti war crowd must be enraged. He has committed, ten fold over, every screw-up that he charged against Bush 43/Cheney/Rumsfeld. Bush had a weasel worded Congressional resolution, a “Declaration of War”, if you read it sideways. Obama does not have an email. Obama only has a UN resolution which is a blatant violation of Article 2 of the UN charter: no nation can war solely on the internal affairs of another nation. One day after the Arab League unanimously agreed that America must carry the burden of war, they condemned us for using bombs. No Arab nation has put money or people at risk, against Qaddafi. Obama promised “no boots on the ground” ten hours before our pilots bailed out of a crippled F 15. If they landed, they violated an order form their Commander in Chief.
Children are in charge of war. We kill, without reason, or goal.
“The only, certain, long term effect of our illegal war on Libya will be the removal from power of Mr. Hussein Obama.”…… Inshallah!
Ah, no, actually some tribes indigenous to Eastern Libya, not “the people,” revolted against Gaddafi’s tribe. Happens all the time. How did we get involved? Well, you see, the former president of Harvard was railroaded out of town by the faculty ladies for being obtuse about fundamental humanitarian gender rights in regards to doing science. Similar ladies–known as Barack’s Angels, Hillary, Susan, and Samantha–advised the president that preventing a possible humanitarian crisis (civil war and genital mutilations) in Libyan was now a core American interest, even with two other wars currently in progress to liberate Muslim women. Fortunately this core interest also coincided with French and British and Italian oil interests in Libya. Well, you can take a black man out of tribal Harvard and make him the anti-war president from Chicago, but you can’t take Harvard out of the black man.
Little lenin is disconnected from the events of the world. For him, the world is himself, and the only thing that matters is his prestige, his power, his future.
So the US is in Libya because the creature woke up on the left side of the bed that day, or perhaps the right. Perhaps he was a wee bit jealous of Hillary, or maybe Gaddafi Duck said something he didn’t like. Maybe the drugs were making him agressive that day or maybe Thunderbutt scolded him more than usual.
Speculating beyond that is useless. As Beck says, “there’s something wrong about this”.
My expectations for President Stinky were always bad unfortunately he has far exceeded them.
I think the plan was to kill Gaddafi, but not to be blamed for it. That seems to be the MO of this particular administration: do what’s necessary, but don’t take credit for it unless the polls signal approval.
Forget Gaddafi. Obama must go.
Absolutely disgusting. America, UK, and all other non-Muslim nations should stay out of this conflict. It is for Muslims only to deal with. Let the Muslims use their great oil wealth, their military and their planes, etc. Let Muslims fight this war if that is what they want.
And who will be the winners? Al Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood?
Well Lin, I don’t know how to break this to you. Because BHO is in over his head, so, by extension, are we!
Barely anyone has mentioned how Congress hasn’t debated or authorized any of this.
I noticed that too, and have been reminding everyone about it on various threads. Un-freakin’-believable, isn’t it?
Misperceptions and Misconceptions on War and Oil
Old Heraclitus knew the only constant was change. Most moderns also perceive the undeniable truth that nothing stands still and that nothing endures indefinitely. One need only refer to politicians to understand the mutability of their most deep-seated beliefs.
Take America’s distinctly non-Heraclitean Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden. Good Ol’ Joe has never been at a loss for words, especially when he can mangle them and his thoughts better than his boss or when he can simply be obtuse.
Like his boss, his beliefs and opinions are written on the wind and he was markedly windy when, among other utterances, and after deep study of the Constitution, he eruditely concluded that, ”The Founding Fathers had vested the power to authorize even the limited use of military force in the Congress not the president—unless it was necessary for the president to act swiftly to repel an attack on the United States or to rescue U.S. citizens:” http://bit.ly/h8uSRp
That was then, in 1998 as the senior senator from the State of Delaware. Now, as VP during the reign of Obama, he remains eerily silent as the president launches an undeclared war in Lybia without so much as an obeisance, a request for a consult, or a May I? from Congress. For all his faults, GWB did his constitutional duty with Iraq and Afghanistan and received the advice and consent of Congress before going to war.
The more things change, the more Joe changes as does President Changeling, the constitutional scholar, who also flipflopped on the Constitution last weekend.
When asked on December 20th, 2007 during his campaign for the presidency when a president “would have the authority to bomb Iran without first seeking authorization from Congress,” candidate Obama was adamant in declaring virtually never: “The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation:” http://bit.ly/eGkLhT
George W. Bush was commander in chief in December 2007, Barack Hussein Obama in March 2011. Either Libya was about to attack America last week or Obama acted in violation of the Constitution when we hurled Tomahawk missiles at Khadafy. Or, everyone, including members of his own party, are misreading the law of the land.
Another misconceived perception is the illogical belief that if America pumps more oil, we would have more oil. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=3937
We have president 0 sitting on his hands for more than 30 days, announced to the world regarding US participation in the Libya war (but it is not a war) while abroad, emphasizing US role will be ‘days not weeks’ before bowing out to the French and the British for a steering committee, to install a democratic system (but later denied that core principle). Now it is a radioactive hot potato nobody wants to touch.
The so-called cool-headed, even-tempered giant intellectual of the Obama fame turned out to be a colossal joke. Of all things the Left accused GW rushing to war! What do we make of that? About our president, the Left, and the gullible middle ‘independents’?
“There is no doubt Muammar Gaddafi should go. He has for decades killed Americans…”
Stop right there.
That’s ALL I care about. I don’t give a good Goddamn about Libya, the rebels, the civilians there, or anything else.
All I care about, when it comes to that stinking Muslim pesthole, is killing Gaddafi and his henchmen, and wiping their government off the face of the planet, which we should have done a long, long time ago.
My two cents.