Operation "Odyssey Dawn" = Gulf War III?

[mrplunkey]

Absurd.

We are crippling the military of a regime that we don't like so rebels we do like can try to install a new government. We've been doing things like this in the middle east and latin America forever.

That's nation-building.

 

[mrplunkey]

Liberal Democrats in Uproar Over Libya Action

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51595.html

A hard-core group of liberal House Democrats is questioning the constitutionality of U.S. missile strikes against Libya, with one lawmaker raising the prospect of impeachment during a Democratic Caucus conference call on Saturday.

Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Donna Edwards (Md.), Mike Capuano (Mass.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Rob Andrews (N.J.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) “all strongly raised objections to the constitutionality of the president’s actions” during that call, said two Democratic lawmakers who took part.

Kucinich, who wanted to bring impeachment articles against both former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney over Iraq — only to be blocked by his own leadership — asked why the U.S. missile strikes aren’t impeachable offenses.

Kucinich also questioned why Democratic leaders didn’t object when President Barack Obama told them of his plan for American participation in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone during a White House Situation Room meeting on Friday, sources told POLITICO.

And liberals fumed that Congress hadn’t been formally consulted before the attack and expressed concern that it would lead to a third U.S. war in the Muslim world.

While other Democratic lawmakers have publicly backed Obama — including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and top members of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees — the objections from a vocal group of anti-war Democrats on Capitol Hill could become a political problem for Obama, especially if “Operation Odyssey Dawn” fails to topple Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, leads to significant American casualties, or provokes a wider conflict in the troubled region of North Africa.

(Pelosi did not participate in Saturday’s call; she is in Afghanistan to meet with U.S. military and diplomatic officials.)

U.S. warships fired more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missles on Saturday in a bid to knock out Libya’s air-defense systems, targeting command-and-control and radar units near Tripoli, the Libyan capital, and the city of Misurata, according to Pentagon officials and media reports. French aircraft attacked armored units loyal to Qadhafi around the city of Benghazi after they ignored international calls for a cease-fire.

Saturday’s conference call was organized by Rep. John Larson (Conn.), chairman of the Democratic Caucus and the fourth-highest ranking party leader. Larson has called for Obama to seek congressional approval before committing the United States to any anti-Qadhafi military operation.

“They consulted the Arab League. They consulted the United Nations. They did not consult the United States Congress,” one Democrat lawmaker said of the White House. “They’re creating wreckage, and they can’t obviate that by saying there are no boots on the ground. … There aren’t boots on the ground; there are Tomahawks in the air.”

“Almost everybody who spoke was opposed to any unilateral actions or decisions being made by the president, and most of us expressed our constitutional concerns. There should be a resolution and there should be a debate so members of Congress can decide whether or not we enter in whatever this action is being called,” added another House Democrat opposed to the Libyan operation.

 

[mrplunkey]

Ohhh... Even Farrakhan is mad at him now!

"You don't want to save the Lybian people. That's your noble motive to hide your wicked agenda."

 

[75th]

We are crippling the military of a regime that we don't like so rebels we do like can try to install a new government. We've been doing things like this in the middle east and latin America forever.

That's nation-building.

Nation building tends to involve a massive financial investment (125 Tomahawks does not a massive financial investment make), extended military occupation, and the direct installing of a transitional government - none of which are occurring here.

You're crossing dangerously close to Gladiator territory where most people will simply think you're trolling. Theres no way someone as smart as you can believe even half of what you've said in this thread.

 

[Strongbow]

We (the US) just bombed Libya.

Operation Odyssey Dawn: U.S. Launches Military Strikes In Libya

I'd love to hear from someone who opposed Afghanistan and/or Iraq but supports this one.

Similarly, I'd love to hear from someone who supported Afghanistan and/or Iraq but opposes this one.

 

[SPEKTOR-AAA]

Nation building tends to involve a massive financial investment (125 Tomahawks does not a massive financial investment make), extended military occupation, and the direct installing of a transitional government - none of which are occurring here.

You're crossing dangerously close to Gladiator territory where most people will simply think you're trolling. Theres no way someone as smart as you can believe even half of what you've said in this thread.

75th please compare the conflicts in both Bahrain and Libya...why is the approach so different? thx

 

[75th]

Who am I, Anderson Cooper?

My point was that, as of right now, there's no way anyone could suggest that what were doing in Libya is nation building.

 

[SPEKTOR-AAA]

You're crossing dangerously close to Gladiator territory where most people will simply think you're trolling. Theres no way someone as smart as you can believe even half of what you've said in this thread.

Alright well I took this comment the wrong way I guess.

 

[mrplunkey]

Nation building tends to involve a massive financial investment (125 Tomahawks does not a massive financial investment make), extended military occupation, and the direct installing of a transitional government - none of which are occurring here.

You're crossing dangerously close to Gladiator territory where most people will simply think you're trolling. Theres no way someone as smart as you can believe even half of what you've said in this thread.

I wish I could just suspend disbelief like that and think we'll be out of Libya in a few days.

How could you possibly believe we won't be involved influencing (even if it's behind the scenes) establishing a new government? Do you think we'd sit by if one of Gaddafi's sons took over?

 

[mrplunkey]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/world/africa/22nato.html?src=twrhp

NY Times Article: Confusion Over Who Leads Libya Strikes, and for How Long
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: March 21, 2011

Here's my favorite part:

PARIS — As the military operation continued over Libya on Monday, there was some confusion about which country or organization is actually leading it, and for how long. France, Britain and the United States are in charge of their own operations, which each have different code names.

The participants are being “coordinated” by the United States, but not commanded by it, according to the French Defense Ministry.

So France, Britain and the US are in "charge", but the US is "coordinating" it. That is the epitome of Barry-speak -- it's right up there with "man-caused disaster".