Posted on 04/07/2011 12:45:44 PM PDT by jazusamo
The front is Libya is barely moving as the country remains split between rebels and Gadhafi's troops. The rebels are complaining of not receiving enough air support, but NATO is hardly in a position to ramp it up after the withdrawals of US fighter jets.
Within NATO, there is also increasing frustration at the slow progress on the ground. The seemingly rudderless attacking and fleeing of the untrained fighters in the face of government soldiers is causing Western allies to despair. And this mutual disillusionment suggests that the second phase of the civil war is now beginning. The situation which critics had feared from the start has now seemingly occurred: a stalemate.
"Libya appears to be sliding into a prolonged conflict with no light at the end of the tunnel" [per Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics]
Every day that Gadhafi remains in power, pressure is growing on Western politicians and military leaders. The question of how long the intervention will last is increasingly being asked out loud.
No one has so far come up with an effective formula for ending the Libyan stalemate. The Western-Arab alliance is hoping steadfastly for one of two outcomes: Either the rebels win a military conflict against all escalations, or Gadhafi voluntarily steps down. Ether event would come as a surprise.
[Not getting rid of Gadhafi] would mean a loss of face, which no Western government wants. The crucial question is: Who has more patience, NATO or Gadhafi?
They are actually thinking about sending US troops in there.
This pisses me off to the max. Not one more US man or woman should die for any sickening muslim. Not one.
I want them out of all muslim hellholes.
Thus always to those who voluntarily choose to make passionate love to Tar Babies. The Illegal is confiriming all of the most pessimistic predictions made by us here on FR.
Libya has been successfully partitioned.
I’m shocked.
Obama’s NATO operation in Libya will completely discredit the capability of the US and NATO in the ME, and foster accelerated trouble in Iraq and Afganistan.
THe budget battle in the US, with payments to be withheld during shutdown to the military, will impact the situation further in a very negative manner. Look for increased activity against US forces in Iraq and Afganistan and generally increased jihadist activity elsewhere as well. The Islamic jihad effort worldwide is being bolstered by the failing US leadership in the US itself as well as NATO. NATO is being exposed by Obama as a hollow shell without the US. Islamists have noticed.
Agreed. The one thing that ticked me off in the beginning was that nothing was brought out about the makeup of the rebels by us. There was “suspicion” by others that they might be al Qaeda led and now it’s pretty certain they are and there are many radical Islamists.
There’s no way, IMO, that our military didn’t know that and would have undoubtedly informed Obama of it and he flat out ignored them.
“Not one more US man or woman should die for any sickening muslim. Not one.”
I heard Michael Scheurer, foreign policy expert on Fox, say “The right of Mrs. Mohammed to vote in a rigged parliamentery election is not worth the life of one U.S. Marine or soldier.”
Yup. France and Britain have accomplished their goal, access to the Eastern oil fields on terms favorable to them by the Benghazi government, kibboshing prior arrangements with Daffy that were no doubt less beneficial to BP and Total.
So the USN was acting as AQ’s Air Force to help BP.
Gadhafi, no question. In part because, for him, "patience" is the only option.
And, in part, because he knows that without US leadership (and US forces), NATO's European members are disinclined to continue a military action. All he has to do, is outlast them.
If the Illegal had followed the War Powers Act, which he had plenty of time to do, Tea Party type pubbies and some libs would have cooperatively asked the vital questions many of us FReepers were asking. The Illegal’s hopelesss, worthless answers would have shredded any case for this ghastly adventure, proving it was nothing but Tar Baby copulation.
You’re right about him not following the War Powers Act, he was pretty sure he’d have been shot down simply because it was not in our nations interest to attack.
I do too, we had better get ready for the coming war that will count..This stuff is killing our soldiers, supplies are depleting, we have no money to replace our weapons and are not preparing for the big one that will make ww2 look like a skirmish...God help Us...
We are on the same page. I totally agree.
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