From No-Fly to Close Air Support - Libya Escalates

[Guest]

What I want to know is where are all the big anti-war protests? Can it be that because a liberal Democrat president is calling the shots, war is suddenly okay?

Don't know if this story is true, but if it is, it represents a serious degree of escalation.

WASHINGTON – A top military official says the U.S. was striking Libyan targets with low-flying Air Force AC-130 gunships and A-10 Thunderbolts over the weekend, bolstering speculation that the U.S. air missions have served to support rebels seeking to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi (MOO'-ah-mar gah-DAH'-fee).

Vice Adm. William Gortney, staff director for the Joint Chiefs, insists that the U.S. is not coordinating attacks with the opposition forces or using airstrikes in direct support to help them gain ground. But U.S. strikes that pummeled Gadhafi forces over the past week clearly opened the door for the rebels to regroup and take back key cities.

The Thunderbolts and AC-130 gunships can fly lower over targets to provide close air support to ground troops. Previous U.S. fighter missions have been at much higher altitudes.

So much for Zer0bama's speech a few minutes ago.

mh
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"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[nanook 1]

Actually, there was a lot of protesting going on during the first day of the strikes. AT least in LA. But, a lot of other groups also showed up and protested other things not related and it was kind of a farce.

Obama's speech specifically said the manner of which air strikes against troops and tanks were taken. There's no hiding the type of equipment required to perform these attacks. That article was true but is not discovering any conspiracy.

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"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[kallend 2,184]

I guess you didn't bother to read UN Resolution 1973. It doesn't ONLY call for a no-fly zone, you know.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[skinnay 0]

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What I want to know is where are all the big anti-war protests? Can it be that because a liberal Democrat president is calling the shots, war is suddenly okay?

Then why don't you get off your ass and go protest if you think its so unjust? Sorry you are so angry

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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What I want to know is where are all the big anti-war protests? Can it be that because a liberal Democrat president is calling the shots, war is suddenly okay?

Don't worry. Barack Obama will win another Nobel Peace prize for starting yet another war. Didn't you get the memo from Hollywood? He is the messiah.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Andy9o8 3]

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No-Fly

No.

As I said in post #6 of the "Libya: Since when did tanks fly?" thread:

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12869658

Well, despite the pre-resolution rhetoric of "no fly zone", the actual resolution did not restrict itself (as many people erroneously think) solely to a no-fly zone. Here is a link to the full text:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/17/un-security-council-resolution

Paragraph 4 of the Resolution "Authorizes Member States ... to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory..."

The no-fly zone is not the exclusive means authorized to do so, and is not mentioned until Paragraph 6 of the Resolution.

[ryoder 1,590]

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Barack Obama will win another Nobel Peace prize for starting yet another war.

I heard this on NPR the other day:
Obama has now fired more cruise missiles than all other Nobel Peace prize winners combined.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Arvoitus 1]

Maybe LIEberals realized what CONservatives knew all along. You've got to kill some brown people to keep the oil flowing.

Your rights end where my feelings begin.

[Skyrad 0]

Why have you started a second thread on this topic?

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[DougH 270]

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Maybe LIEberals realized what CONservatives knew all along. You've got to kill some brown people to keep the oil flowing.

The oil was already flowing. Seems to me that the embargos, and now the pending civil war is the biggest impedement to oil production in Libya.

In comparison, the West could have stood by and let the status quo kill a bunch of brown people all by themselves and enjoyed only a brief interuption in oil supply.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P