Clinton: UN no-fly zone requires bombing Libya

[CountAllVotes]

Source: Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that a U.N. no-fly zone over Libya would require bombing targets inside the country to reduce the threat posed by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

Her assessment made clear the risk of possible military intervention as world powers consider broader steps to protect civilians and pressure the Libyan leader.

"A no-fly zone requires certain actions taken to protect the planes and the pilots, including bombing targets like the Libyan defense systems," Clinton said as she neared the end of a Middle East trip dominated by worries about Libya, where a rebel offensive is apparently flagging.

Clinton said discussions are going beyond specific actions toward broader authorization so countries can enforce any U.N. measures. No ground intervention is being considered, she said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110317/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_us_mideast_clinton

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That is my Secretary of State there! How many more disasters do we need anyway? :mad: :argh:

[brooklynite]

1. I wonder -- if you shot down one Libyan plane with a missle...

How many Ghadaffi loyalists would be willing to fly another?

[ixion]

2. *facepalm*

[no_hypocrisy]

3. And bombing inside Libya is the equivalent of starting a new war theater.

[Robb]

4. So is flying *over* Libya.

Let's not kid ourselves into thinking any "no fly zone" would be unchallenged. In for a penny.

Hopefully, no penny.

[former9thward]

5. A no fly zone is just the first step.

It will escalate from there. Supplies to people on the ground. Then advisers. Then support troops. Then we are in a third war which is what they are trying to entice us into.

[Bosonic]

8. This is depressing

From listening to the last 1/2 hour of AlJazeera, it sounds like it may jump straight from a securtity council vote to actual ground strikes within Libya in maybe hours from now. We are getting much more efficient at getting our war on.

[TheWraith]

10. For fuck's sake, no one is trying to "entice" anything.

In case you hadn't noticed, the US government is not supporting any discussions of a no-fly zone. But that doesn't seem to have penetrated your belief that we're always the villain.

[former9thward]

22. Apparently you may not follow current events.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-libya-resolution-20110317,0,3437856.story

[DeadEyeDyck]

23. those were the good ol' days

now we jump in feet first after the first sideways glance.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Good for her! Don't pretend it's a "nice" thing to do.

It's an invasion. It's not a few lines on a map, with a stern warning and a mean frown.

It's committing already-burnt-out US troops to go into a third conflict.

Maybe let's let someone else handle this one. We don't have enough troops or enough money.

:hi:

[CountAllVotes]

9. it is not a "nice thing to do"

It makes me f'n SICK! :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

Why do we have to "go there" with this whole thing anyway?

WWIII on the way alright! :mad: :argh:

[Roy Rolling]

7. well, duh

that's the point. Bombing=buying more bombs=paybacks to arms makers that fund politicians

[jwirr]

11. If you want a policy that says no one can fly in that area, why do

you have to bomb it? Why not just shot down the planes?

[Robb]

13. Because you enforce a no-fly zone with your own aircraft.

And you don't want ground-to-air defenses taking shots at your aircraft. So you bomb those.

And anything else you think might be a threat, in other words, a lot of stuff. It's not as incremental a move as it might sound, IMO.

[jwirr]

14. Ok understood. It is not as simple as it seems.

[-..__...]

19. Take down air defense systems, runways, radar, communications.

Gain air superiority = profit.

[freedomnorth]

21. Lets hope

Gadhafi ends this civil war before bombings...

[JJW]

12. Time to call up the drones

[lobodons]

15. OK!!

How soon can we start bombing then!!??

[Baclava]

16. "War requires fighting"

double duh

[Duende azul]

17. Clinton, don't wait until 2012. Go away now!

[Imagevision]

18. I agree, Hillary you really need to leave now, no-one has heard anything substantial from you anyway

[davepc]

20. I don't the anger. What she said is 100% true.

Only way to enforce a no-fly zone is to destroy the Libyan air force (perferiably on the ground) and air defense capabilities (radar sites, surface-to-air missile sites, anti-aircraft artillery sites).

The way you do that is by dropping bombs on those things.

You can't keep Libyan aircraft from flying unless you can patrol the air space over the country without attacks your own planes.