U.S to Pull Planes Out of No-Fly Zone Enforcement
By Steven Osborne | Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 | InternationalFox News is reporting that the United States is pulling out of the No-Fly Zone enforcement in Libya.
The hope is that NATO will take the primary responsibility, however the direction of the whole mission continues to be in question. The President has suggested that Qadaffi must go while at the same time insisting that his removal is not the aim of our mission.
The President’s unclear leadership style has caused consternation among the other nations that have traditionally looked to us for clarity on issues like the one that we are facing in Libya.
While we can go through the litany of things that we should have done, the reality is that we are faced with the consequences of what has already been done. As it stands now, if Qadaffi retains power after this is all said and done, he will frame this as a victory in which he turned back the ”crusading” invaders from Libya’s shores. While this would obviously be an exaggeration on his part, Qadaffi has never had a problem with exaggeration.
Likewise, if the rebels win and an Islamist government is installed, we should prepare for the possibility of an extended conflict. Ironically, we could be combating the very people that we help to install.
While it seems that the President is trying to hand off power to NATO, the reality is that the U.S maintains significant leadership within that alliance. This war; excuse me, “kinetic military action,” could prove to be only the beginning.
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About the author
Steven Osborne is a grassroots conservative activist from Central Virginia. He is currently furthering his education at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. In addition to writing for Bearing Drift he is also a columnist for the Christian Law Journal.
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9 Responses to "U.S to Pull Planes Out of No-Fly Zone Enforcement"
one can’t be a dictator for 40+ years without having a few tricks up your sleeve. I wonder what Obama would have done if Libya didn’t have so much oil?
Steve,
If Quadaffi survives then it will be no exaggeration that he won a great victory. In the Arab culture, if you fight someone much stronger than you are and survive, you are victorious. This was why Saddam Hussein retained power for so many years after Gulf I. His military was crushed, he was thrown out of Kuwait, but he was still in power. This made him the victor in the eyes of Iraqis.
I suspect the we will make the same mistake here. Weaken Quadaffi and then go away, assuming that he will be overthrown. He won’t be, and as he rebuilds his security forces the vengeance that he will inflict on the rebels will be horrifying.
at this point, I don’t understand why we just don’t bribe his top generals at $100M each. it would be cheaper, safer, and faster.
This whole debacle was sickingly explained today in all places CNN. Quadaffi has been a good little errand boy fof Western powers since he got knocked down after his Lockabie adventure. This whole thing has a lot do with France and little to with NATO or its allies. Let France send in the French Legion. We should just stay out of this one. If Great Britain has a dog in this fight, then again, their issue. Not a US problem. I dont care what France and UK do, and one suppose we owe them one over our own bullying then re Irag and Afghaisgan, but keep the US out it. Let the Euros deal with this one.
HisRoc,
In any culture if you survive an attack from a more powerful aggressor you are victorious. That is not “Arab culture.” And please site where you got your fact that this is the reason Saddam Hussein stayed in power and made him a victor in the eyes of Iraqis.
Craig,
We should have stayed out of all of them. How can you argue that Iraq and Afghanistan are different (militarily and economically) from Libya?
Afghanistan sort of had a point, as HQ for Al-Queda. Iraq was a red herring from the start, and plenty of people said so at the time, and still say so, though we are mostly out of that quaqmire. Most vocally, my two brothers, both retired Navy, were livid when Bush got us into that mess. Libya is Mediterannean problem. It’s no-win for the US. If we want to go picking fights, well……I am not Nobama and since he doesn’t even know what the mission is (or isn’t), who am I to follow?
ToR,
“In any culture if you survive an attack from a more powerful aggressor you are victorious.”
Really? Does that include Vichy France in WWII? How about Serbia in the 1990′s? Or, were you thinking about the Rwandan Tutsi?
I have traveled throughout the Middle East, from Egypt and Saudi Arabia to Israel, Kuwait, and Turkey. Have you?
??? ?????
My Arabic script posted as question marks. Too bad.
I really don’t have a problem with letting the French, the Brits and the Candadians take the lead here.
It’s about time our NATO allies pulled their share of the weight.
Since France imports far more Libyan oil thanw we do, it’s more their problem than our anyway.
And, frankly, Libya is a problem that’s in their weight class. It’s a second-rate, third-world military. Compared to Libya, Iraq was a military giant.
If our NATO allies can’t handle getting rid of Quadaffi without our taking the lead, they aren’t really good for much.
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