.... on CNN's "State of the Union," Lieberman.. and McCain ...backed the call for a no-fly zone to cripple dictator Moammar Gadhafi's forces. But they went further."I begin with the imposition of a no-fly zone so that Gadhafi can't be attacking his own people from the air or flying in more mercenaries," Lieberman said.McCain agreed, adding that the United States should"make sure that every one of the mercenaries know that any acts they commit they will find themselves in front a war crimes tribunal. Get tough."
These two BONEHEADS should STFU about "mercenaries" and "a war crimes tribunal" as WE used "mercenaries" all the time in Iraq, and still do. We just call them 'Security Contractors'.
So if these dipwads don't want to see hundreds of US Citizens sitting in front of some 'War Crimes judge' from Botswana, I suggest they keep their yaps shut about "mercenaries".
And not to get technical, but what would give the USA the legal authority to impose a 'no-fly-zone' over a country that WE are not at war with, or that posses no direct threat to our national security, or national interests? I'm pretty sure that without Congress issuing a formal declaration of WAR with Libya, the answer is -- NONE.
Of late, I have become more and more non-interventionist in nature. However, I would talk to the surrounding countries and cut a deal with them. I would tell them that all military transport into the country will be challenged and shot down if they do not divert to a non-Libyan airport for inspection. Let the neighbors inspect the planes for mercenaries and resolve it in their own manner.
We have been acting without legal authority so much recently, I don’t think that it would matter that much. There are still Americans in the country and we could say that we were protecting our people. It would stop the flow of mercenaries which nobody would condemn. If our state dept was smart, they could arrange something with regional powers or NATO that would limit our exposure anyway. That’s their freakin job.
It would also generate alot of good will in the muslim world, of which we have none at present. And we would not have to put a boot on the ground or face much if any threat to our pilots. All I am saying is stop the flow of mercenaries and let Libyans solve their own problems. How long has it been since we did something that the muslims would rally behind and consider us the good guys?
Thanks Condor51! You’ve provided some sanity to this discussion. Do you think Hilary or Obama KNOW exactly who they are offering all this help to? Are they sure these “revolutionaries” are someone we would want to “help”?
I’m genuinely asking your opinion because you sound as if you have some reasonable thinking going on.