On FOX News this morning Norman R. Augustine the retired chairman and chief executive officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the nation’s largest defense contractor,told Neal Cavuto:
“Airpower alone will not be successful and boots on ground will be needed.”
Obama: No U.S. Forces on the Ground in Libya . . . Except for Those Guys.
By Jim Geraghty
Posted on March 23, 2011 3:46 PM
NPR: “President Obama said Wednesday it was ‘absolutely’ out of the question that U.S. ground forces would be used in Libya.”
How would the president describe the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit? There is no such thing as a purely air-based combat mission; planes have problems and pilots end up on the ground, and then U.S. forces have to end up on the ground, hopefully briefly, to rescue them and bring them home safely. Ask Scott O’Grady how much time you can spend on the ground while patrolling a no-fly zone.
Details on the recent rescue:
The Kearsarge then sent up two MV-22 Ospreys carrying Marine rescue teams. As they were en route, the Harriers dropped two laser-guided bombs near the crash site, apparently to keep Libyans on the ground from approaching the pilot.
With additional helicopters hovering overhead for security, one of the Ospreys landed and picked up the pilot. He was then taken aboard the Kearsarge.
The weapons systems officer was recovered by what U.S. officials described as Libyan opposition forces. He is safe, officials have said.
There are about 2,200 Marines off the shore of Libya right now. http://www.nationalreview.com/blogs/print/262910
March 24, 2011
Are U.S. Troops Already on the Ground in Libya? | O’Reilly Factor
Special Guests | Col. David Hunt & Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer
RET. COL. DAVID HUNT, U.S. ARMY: Yes, absolutely. You’ve got British service been in there about three weeks ago and actually got captured and released. The French GIGN have been in there and our special forces and our U.S. intelligence operatives and their assets. We do not conduct operations like this, large scale air operations, without people on the ground. They have been very successful, very good, not a lot of contact with the rebels because you don’t know who to talk to. But, yes, we have got intel gathering and rescue guys and special operations guys on the ground, have had them for about 12 days.
O’REILLY: Now, do you agree with that, Col. Shaffer?
LT. COL. TONY SHAFFER, FORMER ARMY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Yes, I have heard from my sources — I got a call from one of my key sources on Monday and that’s exactly what’s going on. Let’s be really clear here. You have got to have these individuals doing what Dave just said, especially when you are talking about trying to protect, and the stated goal here, Bill, is humanitarian support. So you don’t want to have weapons hitting the wrong targets. So, Dave is very good on the fact that we have special operations guys sitting there with laser designators. Bill, you saw…
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/transcript/are-us-troops-already-ground-libya#ixzz1HiPalxMr
Someone should see what Mrs No Fly Zone Palin has to say about this.
Ok, were are the little war supporters now, I want you to travel over there and have a love fest with this pervert, you can bet he personals has american blood on his hands. Great you can dance in the streets as you watch them execute women for showing their face.
barry very satisfied. He can´t wait to turn on Israel. He´ll save the pigastinians. Congress irrelevant, as always.
Gaddafi knowlingly released an Al Qaeda, al-Hasidi.
Just had my spy post the article in 3 threads on Obama’s Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/barackobama
0bama’s tar baby!
Intelligence we should have had weeks ago, but Dear Leader was distracted by schoolyard bullying and parties, while his Cabinet of Incompetents was worrying about Dear Leader’s next election.
Great timing I must say! 0bama’s got a speech scheduled for Monday. :D
Wow; and I’M SOOOOOO SURPRISED? Time to vent Japan to the southwest. Why does the stinkin’ middle east get to escape quakes and natural disaster? They diserve the worst.
Nothing to see here, move along. We ain’t supposed to notice this.
Nothing to see here, move along. We ain’t supposed to notice this.
BOY! DO WE EVER LOOKING FVCKING STUPID.
THANKS, BARRY, YOU STUPID ASS BASTARD.
Lot of American companies getting hurt by the embargo. Was that the plan??
I wonder if someone will ask Onothing if he understands that the people we are supposedly fighting in Afghanistan are the same people we are defending in Libya. I guess not. Our alien-in-chief is such a loser!