Take a side, son...

When I heard that the US armed forces had attacked Libya, a line from Battlestar Galactica immediately came to mind:

"Take a side, son."

That is preciesely what the US has not done.

Plunging into a THIRD Middle Eastern war, this adminsitration, like the last one, seems to blunder along without any real idea what it is doing.

What is the objective in Libya?

Obama mumbled something about protecting civilians.

By taking out Khaddafy's air force and not getting any boots on the ground, we have assured a stalemate.

In a civil war, which is what is happening in Libya, there are no neutral corners. Either you enter on one side or stay out of it completely. If the US was on the side of the rebels, planes would have been hitting Khaddafy when he was forced back into Tripoli. Hillary Clinton said US policy was to remove Khaddafy, so that means we are not on his side. If Khadaffy wins, he is not going to like us very much and we don't seem to be aiding the rebels.

So what are we doing there?

Answer: push up oil prices....

A stalemate ensures more conflict. Conflict means higher oil prices.

The Pentagon's comment yesterday "expect more strikes in the coming hours and days" is a startling departure from traditional policy of not commenting on operational details. It is also not a smart move to telegraph your next move.

Oil prices, of course, went up when this news spread.

Other things to look at.....

Who is leading this operation? The US was supposed to "hand off" to NATO but so far America has handled 85% of the sorties. US Africa Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany(?), is supposed to be leading this but now it is supposed to be a NATO operation and the North Atlantic Council has yet to meet.

Another question: Who is paying for this? According to Yahoo news, it will cost the US $800 million to set up a "no-fly" zone and $100 million a week to keep it in place.

A country with trillion dollar deficits has no business getting mixed up in protracted wars.
See "Spain, 1588, Netherlands" for further information.

Yes, history repeats itself.

Anyone want to open a debate on the War Powers Act?

Maybe Rahm Emanuel did the smart thing in getting out while he still could....