Showing posts with label Suez Canal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suez Canal. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Sound Military Options

The leader de facto of Libya, Muammar al-Gadda...Image via Wikipedia
Times Of India: US flexes muscle, sends warships to Libya: The United States began moving warships toward Libya and froze $30 billion in the country's assets as the administration declared all options on the table in its diplomatic, economic and military campaign to drive colonel Muammar Gaddafi from power. ...... conferring with allies about imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. Such a move would likely be carried out only under a mandate from the UN or Nato, but Hillary's blunt confirmation that it was under consideration was clearly intended to ratchet up the pressure on Gaddafi and his dwindling band of loyalists...... USS Kearsarge had left the Red Sea to transit through Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, close to Libya. USS Kearsarge has armed helicopters and harrier jets on board as well as around 700 Marines ..... USS Enterprise had also been kept on 'high standby alert' in the Red Sea ...... A no-fly zone would require removing "the air defense capability first" ..... Anti-regime leaders said they have formed a military council in Benghazi, which has become the hub of efforts to topple Gaddafi. The council, comprising officers who joined protesters, will liaise with similar groups in other freed cities but it was not clear if there were plans for a regional command.
For America to send ground troops into Libyan territory would be a huge mistake. For one, America can't afford it. Two, I doubt the UN would authorize such a move. Three, that would send a very bad signal. It is for people power to oust dictators, that is not the job of the US military.

I have never advocated that the US send ground troops into Libya.