Libya: U.N. Security Council to support action short of invasion

Page 6 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

davmat787

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2010
5,512
24
76
Iraq was stable with no rebellion, not in a state of war. Libya is in a civil war with significant combined forces against Q. This situation has more similarities with the Kosovo War than with Operation @*#( up Iraq, 2003.

Kurds (that haven't been gassed at least) say hi.
 

JSt0rm

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
27,399
3,948
126
To make that claim I believe you need to know what our objectives are in Libya. If the objective is merely to prevent Khadaffy from killing them with aircraft, so he kill them with tanks/artillery or rifles, fine.

If it's anything more, I'd appreciate you detailing out how it's all that different.

Fern

Its a no fly zone. It's not anything more. It has international support. I would like some to answer my question. How are Libya and Iraq the same thing?
 

JSt0rm

Lifer
Sep 5, 2000
27,399
3,948
126
Whats going on here is all of those who were for going to iraq (if you can still find people who are admitting to it) want to come down on this move as if it were an Iraq. ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE. So get that out of your heads.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
Whats going on here is all of those who were for going to iraq (if you can still find people who are admitting to it) want to come down on this move as if it were an Iraq. ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE. So get that out of your heads.

I think the point most Iraq war supporters were trying to make (and I am one) is that our national interests were at stake in Iraq. We secured a stable oil supply to keep fuel prices low and the market relatively shock free. By going into Libya, we're not acting in our interests, we're acting in the interests of the French and to a lesser degree the British, who get a substantial amount of their oil from Libya.

There have been plenty of genocides and humanitarian crisis over the past decade in which we've not gotten involved. Why this one? Who gives a fuck if every single last rebel in Libya gets shot in the dick? What does it matter to us, and more importantly, is it worth risking US servicemember's lives over? I think not.
 

sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,163
136
How many wars are too many wars?
What are we going to be forced to give up here, to
fund wars there? All social security? Triple our taxes?
Sacrifice our savings and retirement security?
How many wars does it take to destroy a nation?
Why do presidents love the power of starting war?
If they are bored, can"t they just redo the oval office? Maybe new drapes?

Ps. Why was the US not so interested in the Rwanda blood shed, yet we are all over the middle east blood shed?
Maybe...... OIL?
 
Last edited:

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
How about the Shiites that got crush during an uprising against Saddam? Can't they say hi to you?
What part of "Iraq was stable with no rebellion, not in a state of war" was unclear? If you can recommend a simpler, more clear way to rewrite that I'd be happy to do so.

If you guys are going to try and draw parallels with Iraq at least get your history within the ballpark. Oh lookey what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_uprisings_in_Iraq

See "U.S. non-intervention controversy"
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
10,018
37
91
How many wars are too many wars?
What are we going to be forced to give up here, to
fund wars there? All social security? Triple our taxes?
Sacrifice our savings and retirement security?
How many wars does it take to destroy a nation?
Why do presidents love the power of starting war?
If they are bored, can"t they just redo the oval office? Maybe new drapes?

Ps. Why was the US not so interested in the Rwanda blood shed, yet we are all over the middle east blood shed?
Maybe...... OIL?

Why would the US be interested in that? The UN was all over that one...after talking and condemning and jabber jawing until there was almost no one was left to slaughter, they even sent UN peacekeepers, well, until the UN couldn't muster up 14 helicopters - out of the entire UN - for them.

As for presidents, air war is guaranteed PR for them, they can't lose because of our technology. US should have said, we vote Yes, now, go do it rest of UN. Hahaha....shocked and stunned faces from the UN...Wawawa do you mean we go do it, what we really meant was, we appear to offer meaningful help, but really you the US do it!...and then we can badmouth you when you mistakenly kill civilians..can we re-vote, can we re-vote?!!?!?

O'Bummer is thinking 2012 elections, figured he'd get a cheap boost...

Chuck
 

DucatiMonster696

Diamond Member
Aug 13, 2009
4,269
1
71
What part of "Iraq was stable with no rebellion, not in a state of war" was unclear? If you can recommend a simpler, more clear way to rewrite that I'd be happy to do so.

If you guys are going to try and draw parallels with Iraq at least get your history within the ballpark. Oh lookey what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_uprisings_in_Iraq

See "U.S. non-intervention controversy"

So what you are saying is that Iraq being "stable" (Under the iron grip of a murderous dictator who had enough loyal security forces to lock down his nation and kill or imprison everyone and anyone who got in the way) that it can't be compared to Libya which is on the verge of smashing all rebel resistance?

Yup gotta love that point you keep harping about over and over again. If Gaddafi accomplishes the same style of "stability" as Saddam (even under a UN "no fly zone") your gonna change your tune right?
 

Pocatello

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,754
2
76
Does Great Britain still have an air force or navy? How many Harrier jump jets are still in operation?
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
So what you are saying is that Iraq being "stable" (Under the iron grip of a murderous dictator who had enough loyal security forces to lock down his nation and kill or imprison everyone and anyone who got in the way) that it can't be compared to Libya which is on the verge of smashing all rebel resistance?
Exactly yes that is what I meant by stable.
Yup gotta love that point you keep harping about over and over again. If Gaddafi accomplishes the same style of "stability" as Saddam (even under a UN "no fly zone") your gonna change your tune right?
If the UN fails here, and by God it looks like they are doing their damndest, then Libya will be under an Iraq situation of worse oppression than before.

If you want to compare iraq to Libya have the Western air force sit on its hands for another few days (or less). By then Gadhafi will have finished sweeping up most of the resistance and lock the country down.

I wonder what the hell the UN is doing now. They waited so long and it's now been 36 hours since resolution. There were assets in the area already, plans drawn up. Gadhafi has spent the last day throwing more weight at it and is now at the gates if not already into Benghazi. If he ends up with total control over these cities air support will be meaningless, it will be too late.

If planes are not up in the air bombarding the crap out of him today it will be too late. It may already be too late. What could have been a number of sorties and missiles before may already require boots on the ground and a total cluster fvck. Then you can more easily compare it to Iraq.

His artillery, planes, tanks, trucks all en route in the dessert to these rebel towns are like shooting fish in a barrel. Now if they're in the city? Forget it, you waited too damn long.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Hey Obama

This is what you should say to the Republicans calling for the U.S. to start a new war in Libya:

Our ass is broke and you broke it

You want a new war you go there personally and take out Ghadafi
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
Smart, last time Canadians were on the ground they were bombed by coked up American pilots.

This should be a good opportunity for Europe to show some competence in the war game. Bush and his league of extraordinary neocons really lowered the bar...

LOL! Now THAT'S funny! Look, I think the European militaries are already training for this encounter:

7308-5620surrender.jpg
 
Last edited:

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
So what you are saying is that Iraq being "stable" (Under the iron grip of a murderous dictator who had enough loyal security forces to lock down his nation and kill or imprison everyone and anyone who got in the way) that it can't be compared to Libya which is on the verge of smashing all rebel resistance?

Yup gotta love that point you keep harping about over and over again. If Gaddafi accomplishes the same style of "stability" as Saddam (even under a UN "no fly zone") your gonna change your tune right?

I'm conservative, but I was against the war in Iraq back in the early 2000s an am against it still to this day. The problem I have is that people seem to conveniently pick and choose what are "humanitarian" causes and what not, when the true reason has nothing to do with that and has everything to do with what benefits us -- in the case of Iraq, economic reasons. Getting rid of Saddam was just a positive side effect, though with the way things played out, I wonder if we would've been better off just leaving him in power.

If you're going to seriously use the "Saddam was a murderous dictator who had to be removed!" argument, then I'd ask why we haven't removed a multitude of other dictators who were just as dangerous (or more so) than him. Kim Jong Il HAS WMDs and murders his people as Saddam did. Why haven't we taken him out yet?

We need to stay away from Libya. The impotent UN has already "debated" the issue into irrelevance, as there isn't much a no-fly zone will do at this stage. Let Europe handle this situation instead of writing the check with their mouths and having the US cash it with our military.
 
Last edited:

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
Why haven't we taken him out yet?
Perhaps for the same reason I can save up money to buy a new Honda Civic but not buy a new Bugatti Veyron. Differences in scope.

If the world stays out of Libya it should just completely stop pretending it gives a sh*t about anybody else because if the UN, US, etc. cannot step in here it never has any moral justification to do so.
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
Perhaps for the same reason I can save up money to buy a new Honda Civic but not buy a new Bugatti Veyron. Differences in scope.

If the world stays out of Libya it should just completely stop pretending it gives a sh*t about anybody else because if the UN, US, etc. cannot step in here it never has any moral justification to do so.

The reason we haven't taken Kim out is because 1) There is no real economic benefit for us 2) Given #1, the risk is too high for such a minimal benefit.

I like the example someone else gave. If the Saudi people revolt and face a similar response from their monarchy, are we going to even entertain helping the people? I think we all know the answer there and I agree with you -- people should stop pretending that we care about the civilians in these nations. The UN is the worst offender in this regard, IMO.
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
0
I like the example someone else gave. If the Saudi people revolt and face a similar response from their monarchy, are we going to even entertain helping the people?
Depends if they get the oil wells under control first. Honestly.

I like to think the UN cares about the people here and I do genuinely believe it does to an extent. I don't know if that's all of it. Apparently much of Libya's oil production is on the east and I am positive this has been brought up in meetings. It's very safe to say that if Gadhafi is left to kill everyone that oil will come back online faster, reverting to status quo than if there is UN intervention, though, so perhaps altruism is influencing after all.
 

Pocatello

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,754
2
76
Apparently, the rebels shot down their one and only fighter jet. Are those monkeys on the ground with SA-7 missiles going to shoot down NATO jets next? Those NATO pilots better be flying above 15,00 ft.