Obama signals willingness to intervene militarily in Libya if crisis worsens

[Swede]

President Obama said Thursday that he had ordered plans giving the U.S. military "full capacity to act, potentially rapidly," in Libya if the situation there deteriorates.

"The region will be watching carefully to make sure we're on the right side of history," Obama said at a White House news conference with visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderon. As with Egypt and Tunisia, he said, U.S. interests were best served if the United States was not seen as engineering or imposing a particular outcome.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030305420.html?hpid=topnews

[Arctic Dave]

1. Fucking stupid beyond words.

I wonder if we get a dicount on the oil if we help or will we just protect the wells and pipelines.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. C-130s will be used to fly Egyptians back home from Tunis

Spain started that today. That was requested by the UNHCR.

That I have no problem with.

[Arctic Dave]

3. I don't think that is the "militarily" he talking about.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. No but we have been heading in that direction for a while

I am amazed nobody has recognized the rebels yet as the government of Libya. It would make it so damn easy to ... freeze assets.

[pinboy3niner]

4. And the USS Kearsarge can assist humanitarian efforts, if necessary

Its medical facililties include six operating theaters and it can care for up to 600 patients.

This warship has conducted both combat and humanitarian missions in the past.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. They are moving in two tracks

today the damn *)&&^() translator from MSNBC was doing such a lousy job. I was hoping Mexico would lead in the we recognize rebels instead of Kadaffi as true government. There are reasons why a country like Mexico would make sense to lead that parade. Watch for that to happen, if that is decided behind closed doors, SOON.

[sad sally]

6. You bet! Let's see if there are a few thousand second or third

tour National Guard members who aren't too badly injured that the US can send to Libya as peacekeepers. Stop this insanity! We cannot police the world!

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Nah it will not be the US leading that parade

African Union Troops... after this matter is taken care off. African Union, boots on ground, do not have the capacity to lead a no fly zone... which I smell is coming.

To the credit of the Secretary of Defense, he did not go into why we need to do it, but he said, and I paraphrase, this means bombing Libya (All Air Defense Assets). He also was quite clear that this would not be done by US, but an ALLIED force, read NATO.

But boots on ground... I smell an African Union force... arab would be better, but they are worried about needing those troops at home... as much as they protest,

[texastoast]

9. Idiocy

Unless, of course, we get more oil to feed the Hummers.

:sarcasm: