Well, Obama promised us that if he were elected, we’d no longer be in two wars at the same time, so he started another one. We have yet to hear from The One We’ve Been Waiting For exactly what Vital National Interest is being served by being drug into enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya. The French and British seem to feel that it is Of The Utmost Importance that Qadaffi be prevented from putting an end to the current uprising. The Germans wanted no part of the action whatsoever. The Arab League were all for it until they found out that it involved bombing a fellow Arab nation by non-Arabs, so they’ve been in full retreat.
France has also now declared that she does not want to lead this effort, nor does she want some sort of NATO-led effort. What France is proposing is some sort of supra-NATO committee composed of representatives of the belligerents, plus the Arab League and who knows who else.
What remains the most unclear is “Why Libya?” Obama had this to say:
Obama explained that the U.S. is acting as part of a broad international coalition that agreed Qadhafi — who answered a pro-democracy rebellion against him with brutal violence — must be stopped.
.
“Our military action is in support of an international mandate from the [United Nations] Security Council that specifically focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Colonel Qadhafi to his people,” the American president said. “Not only was he carrying out murders of civilians, but he threatened more.”
Left unsaid is exactly how the situation in Libya differs from that in Iran last year or in Bahrain now. Qadaffi/Libya is a known state sponsor of terrorism, but then so is Iran. Qadaffi is violently suppressing a popular rebellion, but then so is Bahrain and so was Iran, yet we remain spectacularly uninvolved in either.
Meanwhile, our pilots have a herculean task ahead of them, and I’m not talking about merely avoiding antiaircraft fire.
Once committed to hitting enemy forces on the ground, though, U.S. leaders faced a problem built into the U.N. mandate to protect civilians. Are opposition fighters civilians? Are they military? What about civilians who are loyal to Gadhafi? Do they warrant protection, too? Gen. Ham, speaking to reporters from his headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, had some difficulty sorting it out.
Essentially, they are required to somehow divine the intentions of groups of people they see on the ground while flying past them at several hundred mph.
What this all boils down to is we’ve managed to become entangled in some multinational feel-good group hug whose strategic intent has yet to be determined and whose overall goal is completely unknown. The Chicagoboyz (no relation to the President or his fellow travelers) have come up with a set of outcomes ranging from total American victory
1) Qadaffi dead or fled and,
2) A stable successor state that is not a terrorist haven, and,
3) A democracy.
to total American defeat.
1) Qadaffi survives in power
We all need to pray for our great nation; she’s gonna need it.
n.b. The above really only discusses pretty high-level foreign policy aspects of Obama’s Excellent Libyan Adventure. More info can be found at:
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110321-libya-west-narrative-democracy (always a good source)
http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2011/03/morning-read-stratfor-on-libya-west-and.html (very link-rich)
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=213195 (the always informative Caroline Glick)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/libya-civil-war-nfz.htm
Here are a couple of links for some domestic policy (such as it is or is not) discussion:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51687.html
http://www.webb.senate.gov/newsroom/interviewtranscripts/2011-03-21-01.cfm
#52 M42, as far as choirs go, we’re a pretty small group, but (myself excepted) talented. Three members teach music in schools, three others have degrees in music, and one of the altos has played Cello with the Houston Symphony. We have fun before and during rehearsal, but we’re serious as well. The songs we’re working on for the rest… Read more »
High schol drama class maybe?
Doesn’t sound like any church choir I ever heard of.
Adee, it was good to see your post today. I noticed the long absence and was glad to hear you got to spend time with relatives.
The bad news: My adopted little sister Sarah has dropped out of choir for the rest of the season because singing causes her pain due to a medical condition. This is sad because she loves to sing, and she is darn good at it. I mean, really, really good at it. The good news: She still joins us every week… Read more »
Some cats do purr louder than others. I think purring is one of the main things cat people like about cats, and I am sure domesticated cats have been selected for their purring tendency. Just like all the various breeds of dogs have been selected for traits their breeders and owners like.
Dammit I’m mad spelled backwards is dammit I’m maD. 😀
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 70%
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 100%
We gots us lots of Libertarians — cuz it was not an unbiased quiz.
Mharper #39;
I was going to present it as bob42’s cat before I knew the feline had the perfect name for being bob42’s cat!
Guess I was wishy/washy on the corporate welfare question, I do think there are times gubment should provide incentives to business.
So did I pass the audition?
Dang. And here I thought I was a right-wing authoritarian nutjob.
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 60%
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 100%
Who knew?
#40 Cool! Nice to know we have one libertarian amongst us.
I’m a Libertarian, I’m a Libertarian!
#38 What a sweet cat!
That’s some Meow Mix Smokey’s eating.
Loudest Cat in the World?
Here is another Pajams Media article which articulates very well my apprehension in supporting rebel fighters in Libya. There seems to be a huge general assumption that anti-Gaddafi forces are pro-American forces that should be armed and organized by the United States, but as you will see below there is documentary proof that at least some of the anti-Gaddafi forces… Read more »
IDF strikes targets in Gaza in retaliation to rockets
This is good but unfortunately not nearly enough. Hamas (not to be confused with “Hamous”) needs to be decimated.
#34,
And the fact that you have a parametric solid model DOES NOT mean you get to ignore drafting rules / standards.
/pet peeve
I’m a draftsman. Have been for 35 years. I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t mind having to draw a picture telling people they need to pick fly poop out of pepper, but its getting to the point where I’m having to show each terd in 3D. Guys—the computer doesn’t make drawing this crap any easier or faster. It… Read more »
Straight out of my email… HOW IS NORMA? A sweet grandmother telephoned St. Joseph ‘s Hospital. She timidly asked, “Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?” The operator said, “I’ll be glad to help, dear. What’s the name and room number of the patient?” The grandmother in her weak, tremulous voice… Read more »
Looks like Beck might have opened up a can of worms. Dear Attorney General Holder: Recent media reports suggest that the former director of the Service Employees International Union’s (“SEIU”) banking and finance campaign has threatened to seriously endanger the welfare of the United States. In a forum at Pace University earlier this month, Stephen Lerner, the former SEIU official,… Read more »
We haven’t done something like this, kind of on the fly before. And so it’s not surprising to me that it would take a few days to get it all sorted out.” Nope. Used ta be we planned this crap out and knew what we were doing and why before we started out, even if after we did it the… Read more »
For a guy who hopes to get reelected in 2012, Obummer sure seems to be going at it the wrong way in more ways than one. He clearly flip/flops on his words about the authority of a President to go to war. And now everybody seems to have “bailed out” on him leaving the USA to go it alone, again.… Read more »
Without saying exactly what we’re hoping to do or why Libya is such a Problem Which Must Be Solved By Us Immediately, Obama has stated an “exit strategy” (of sorts): “The exit strategy will be executed this week,” President Obama said, “in the sense that we will be pulling back from our much more active efforts to shape the environment.… Read more »
…Speaking of hardened criminals, oral sex is still illegal in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Washington D.C.
Yet another reason that I’m glad I don’t live in Louisiana anymore.
/wonders about the length of the statutes of limitations…
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says if Western leaders decide to attack his country, he’ll join with al-Qaida in a “holy war,” unleashing a flood of illegal immigrants into Europe and backing known terror fomenters, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. Thus supporting the position that most of the terrorism is political, not religious, in nature; generally supported… Read more »
In support of the Wagon Flamer’s post today, I offer up this as an incitement of the Arab League in enlisting the coalition to do their dirty work. Europe wants no part of this illegal influx much like we don’t from our Southern border for all the obvious results. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says if Western leaders decide to attack… Read more »
My question on the Libyan thing is along these lines – Will we wind up apologizing for blowing up some of their stuff and offering to replace it before it is over?
A “Palestinian” Lutheran Lion™ tried to blow up a busload of innocent civilians in Jerusalem today.
21 wagonburner says: March 23, 2011 at 9:21 am Oh cr@p. Things must be spiraling out of hand. Obama cut a trip to some Mayan ruins off his itinerary so he could leave a few hours early. I willing to bet his political advisors told him that pictures of him standing among ruins might be a bad idea given that… Read more »
It goes on from there. ooooo My fav so far: Don’t make me laugh; once again a cowboy imperialist pResident is acting unilaterally to destabilize the Middle East, a move that will undoubtedly inflame the Arab Street and create legions of new terrorists as they watch the US bomb more innocent Muslims who have done us no harm. That little… Read more »
Oh cr@p. Things must be spiraling out of hand. Obama cut a trip to some Mayan ruins off his itinerary so he could leave a few hours early.
I’m gonna bet that they don’t use the words “Mission Accomplished”, even though it will amount to the same thing they accused Bush of.
Well, looking overseas for news on the Libyan front, it appears that this little exercise has really given Dear Leader the opportunity he was looking for to demonstrate his managerial and diplomatic skills for all the world to see. Does the word clusterxxxx seem appropriate.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368693/Libya-war-Germans-pull-forces-NATO-Libyan-coalition-falls-apart.html
The evil ghouls at Planned Parenthood don’t want their prospective victims to make an informed decision and are planning to go to court over it in South Dakota after a new law was passed.
I’m reminded of an old song long ago that went on about a football game. The going against the defense was tough, and the crowd was continuing to chant “give that ball to Leroy.” After a while, the quarterback calls time out, approaches the coaches on the bench, and exclaims out loud “Coach, Leroy say he don’t want that ball.”… Read more »
Elizabeth Taylor assumes studio temperature.
This is funny.
It goes on from there.
Bonus link at the end.
#6 hamous
Thanks boss.
I just wanted to prove that I could: a) be serious; and b) not go to the (very, very fertile) Florida well too often. 😉
Except that this time we started bombing folks without Congressional approval. And many fewer UN resolutions. And very little preparation of the population. The uncoordinated, disjointed, and sometimes schizophrenic Foreign Policy of Obama It’s become crystal clear to even the most casual and disinterested observer that Obama has no foreign policy per se (he doesn’t have much in the way… Read more »
I’ll add this as well: That success could be acheived by merely not doing what Bush would have done electing Democrats. Seems to be the guiding principal of the Republican Party these days. Both parties need to get shaken the frig up. Lets not let the disgust we feel over Obama cloud our judgement when it comes to Republicans. Its… Read more »
Now wait just a derned minute, Iraq was one of the few places on earth, including the U.S., where Al Queda wasn’t. I know, I heard it on CNN. Seems we heard a lot in the media back then that we’re not hearing now. Even though the circumstances are pretty much the same. Except that this time we started bombing… Read more »
I think someone may have linked to this already, but this certainly puts the radiation issue into perspective.
NOW I’m off to take care of Handsome.
#7
.
I used to work at a place that had about 10 Gonzales’, what’s so weird about that?
/ducks and hauls bob
#4
Now wait just a derned minute, Iraq was one of the few places on earth, including the U.S., where Al Queda wasn’t. I know, I heard it on CNN.
Well, they have our guns, may as well have the rest….
I’m off soon to take Handsome to the foot doctor. The boy’s been working out a little too hard, and he has tryouts soon for (hopefully) a basketball scholarship.
Excellent summary, Wagonburner.
Good morning Hamsters. Windy and 66 at 6, another unseasonably warm and rainless day ahead, several breeds of trees now dumping monstrous quantities of pollen to bedevil noses and sinuses far and wide. Spouse’s brother and wife had a great time visiting for 6 days from Madison, WI. It was a great relief from the dismal late-winter cold/dirty, sometimes-melting snow/more… Read more »