The PJ Tatler

«
»

Secretary Gates today dispatches military ships to Libya – the Chinese did this a week ago

For those who might be impressed by the heartening news that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has dispatched hundreds of U.S. Marines and amphibious craft to Libya on a humanitarian mission, please note that the Chinese did this a week ago — and did it as a military warning to Col. Moammar Qadddfi.

More than a week ago the Chinese military frigate Xuzhou was re-directed from anti-piracy duty from the Gulf of Aden to Libya.

And for those who said that President Obama’s timidity throughout the crisis was due to fear the Libyans might harm Americans still in-country, the Chinese military mission had a completely different strategy. It warned the Libyans there would be military consequences if they harmed their Chinese nationals.

Associated Press quoted U.S. Naval War College China expert Andrew Erickson, saying that the Chinese are not worried about flexing their military muscle, even in places far from home like the Mediterranean. “In addition to preventing attacks on ships carrying evacuees, the Xuzhou’s dispatch also serves as a warning to elements in Libya not to harm Chinese civilians or prevent them from leaving the country.”

So don’t applaud yet that Obama is getting tough.

Posted at 12:59 pm on March 1st, 2011 by

PJ Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:

1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.

2. Stay on topic.

3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.

4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.

5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.

These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that PJ Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pjmedia.com.

1 Comments, 1 Threads

  1. 1. Kevin Shook

    The U.S. chartered ferries to evacuate Americans from Libya last week, but this week Obama is sending U.S. forces to Libya in an attempt to stop the bloodshed. American blood and treasure will be spent not to save Americans, but to save Libyans. Bravo, Mr. President. Bravo.

    March 1, 2011 - 1:21 pm   Link to this Comment | Reply

Leave a Reply

Click here to subscribe to the Daily Digest, to stay up to date with the latest at PJ Media. (You will be sent an email asking you to verify your email address. If you have previously subscribed, no verification email will be sent.)