I'm of two minds when it comes to bombing Libya. Gaddafi is a butthole dictator who murders innocent people. He's also taken leave of his senses and probably needs to be taken out. And supporting fledgling democracies in the Middle East is essential if we are to move to a Type 1 civilization in this century.
Yet, his oil only represents about 2 percent of our country's imports. This is, after all, a civil war and do we really need to be involved in ANOTHER conflict in the Middle East? Especially one that will cost more money?
One thing I do know is that President Obama's approval ratings are going to go up now that he is unleashing the Tomahawks.
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This sort of thing can work if the world actually backs our play. NATO waged an air war against Slobodan Milošević during the Clinton administration. Milošević was removed from power and put on trial in the Hague. He died before a verdict was reached, under mysterious circumstances: possibly by suicide, murder or a heart attack.
Saddam was neutered by a no-fly zone, preventing him from attacking the Kurds. He was a toothless old man when we invaded Iraq in 2003, after more than ten years of sanctions and the no-fly zone.
Qaddafi should be investigated for crimes against humanity. Turning mercenaries on his own people is something that certainly warrants a closer look. It's almost certain that he's had a hand in terrorism across the world, in particular the Lockerbie bombing. These charges should be investigated and if there's sufficient proof of his involvement, a warrant should be issued and he should be arrested and placed on trial.
Getting involved in a foreign country is generally a bad idea, but there's little comparison between Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011. In Libya thousands of people yearning for freedom made a bold move against a dictator, risking their lives to throw Qaddafi out. The most charitable reading of the war in Iraq was that a bunch of Iranian spies, including Achmed Chalabi and "Curveball," bamboozled the Bush administration into a war based on the lie that Saddam had WMDs and had been involved in 9/11.
Bush pushed ahead against Iraq despite opposition from most of the world. Obama is being dragged into Libya kicking and screaming by the Arab League.
It could still blow up in a nasty way, and it's yet another drain on our budget (though we're not shouldering the entire burden as we did in Iraq). While there aren't any good wars, taking Qaddafi out is not actively evil.
His base hates that we stuck our nose into a country that didn't attack us. Tomahawks cost a half million bucks a pop. You really think his approval rating will go up knowing he spent $65 million bucks on Saturday? Highly unlikely.
Did you see all the dirt Beck dug up on his Thursday TV show? The MA PR firm hired to give Lybia a shiny new face, the Brittish university that gave Gaddafi's son a degree and later learned he plagiarized the whole time he was there, the Rev Jeremiah Wright/Louis Farakhan/Gaddafi alliance?
Good stuff my man, good stuff!
I can't wait to see your post that you mentioned the other day on fantasy. The above post will hopefully be an example of this.
Truth Girl, the truth has no agenda. Remember that.
" In Libya thousands of people yearning for freedom..."
I don't buy that yet. I'd like to know a little more about the rebels we are assisting in Libya. Have they been studying democracy for 25 years? Is this just a civil was between the folks in the east side of the country and the west side of the country? Will the rebel leadership be any less crazy than what they currently have for leadership?
Bush isn't president anymore blk, time to move on.
Now the party who didn't even pass a budget last year is starting to get concerned about the budget.
I give the 'Left' full credit for the current headlines at ~9 pm Philly time. It's time both sides thought about WHY they voted. Is your -vote- doing what you voted for?
Hey all you "right" vs. "left" voters, if you let YOUR guy shred the constitution, you'd better not complain when OUR side does. But if you don't, we ALL lose.
[Picking your ballot these days is like picking between Beastmaster at 3:00 am on Showtime, or Beastmaster 2 on at 3:00 on Cinemax.]
Dennis Miller?
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