We've been here before...

[GSLevel9]

"We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10,000 miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves,"

LBJ 1964

American blood, sweat and treasure on the line for the possible benefit of the EU and a Rebel force with Al Qaeda and Hamas ties.

[in_cog_ni_to]

1. Do the rebel forces have Hamas and Al Qaeda ties?

Do we now know that for a fact now? If that's true....they (warmongering world leaders and their supporters) need their heads examined!

[The Magistrate]

6. No, Sir, He Does Not Know That For A Fact: He Just Thinks It Sounds Nice....

[in_cog_ni_to]

7. That's all I need to know. Thanks, Magistrate. n/t

[The Magistrate]

8. Much Appreciated, Sir

There are plenty of grounds on which to argue against this action without resort to inventing, or regurgitating, nonesense.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. Agreed,

:)

[GSLevel9]

11. start by reading here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html

sigh... blathering about things you don't understand.

Here's some meat and potatoes for you.

"According to a cache of al Qaeda documents captured in 2007 by U.S. special operations commandos in Sinjar, Iraq, hundreds of foreign fighters, many of them untrained young Islamic volunteers, poured into Iraq in 2006 and 2007. The documents, called the Sinjar documents, were collected, translated and analyzed at the West Point Counter Terrorism Center. Almost one in five foreign fighters arriving in Iraq came from eastern Libya, from the towns of Surt, Misurata and Darnah.

On a per capita basis, that’s more than twice as many than came from any other Arabic-speaking country, amounting to what the counter terrorism center called a Libyan “surge" of young men eager to kill Americans."

[The Magistrate]

14. My Ignorance Is Legend, Sir

Foreign fighters indeed arrived in Iraq, viewing themselves as resisting a Western invasion of Islamic lands. To pretend all who did so were dedicated al Queda radicals is similar to imagining all members of the International Brigades in Spain were Communist Party members. The area you reference is a heartland of the old Sennusi, who have a tradition of resistance to Western incursions on Islam long predating modern Islamic radicalism. Pretending this makes the present rising in Libya an expression of al Queda is foolishness on a par with the best of Pipes or Emerson.

[GSLevel9]

12. you too :D

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html

[snappyturtle]

2. I don't know why this concept is so difficult to understand.

Maybe the un-reccers would be so kind to enlighten us.

[GSLevel9]

3. Well at LEAST Iraq was launched

with justifiable (based on lies) evidence that American interests were directly THREATENED or ENDANGERED.

There is NO US interest in what happens in Libya. We receive VERY LITTLE of their OIL. And they have made no anti-American gestures in the last decade.

The Iraq invasion is (was) a piece of shit but on the "justifiable meter" this current affair is a notch lower.

[somone]

5. There is no compelling national interest worthy of either blood or treasury

which we don't have

[WCGreen]

19. Which actually makes it more compelling...

No real economic interests, no large US companies involved and the Bush family, as far as I can tell, have no interests in Libya.

We are there, it seems, to support a movement of people sick and tired of having a mad man ruling their country.

Sometimes that is the best justification there is...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. Well said, Chris. I agree...

[alittlelark]

4. The game is to keep the 'dollar' oil's base.

Any other currency is Death to the 'Powers that be'.

[Paradoxical]

10. The racism in the OP is damn near palpable.

[GSLevel9]

13. u mean LBJ's quote from 1964???

[Paradoxical]

15. Both the quote and your statements.

So thick I could cut it with a knife.

[hfojvt]

16. why won't people include a link?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWgYv-bHjkc

"You might think that it's hopeless
beyond our control
but that's not necessarily so
can't you see there's a chance for a daring young soul
who's finally learned to say 'no'
'no I won't be misused, ignored or refused
and I won't just give up and let go'..."

[Waiting For Everyman]

17. Yeah, but it's all about the TREASURE part isn't it. Blood, sweat, not so much.

So maybe we can send them a bill when Gadaffi's out. I get that - it's like nowadays in some localities having to pay the ambulance before it will pick you up when you're creamed in the road from an accident... or a firetruck when your house is burning down.

This is just the same thing, but bigger.

What would happen, I wonder, if this killing was going on outside of London right now? Or Washington DC? What would we want the world to do then?

Or is it because the Libyans as mostly poor? And we care about our money more than them?

Maybe instead of worrying about policy so much, we should just do the right thing once in a while. Maybe it will work out well and maybe it won't, there aren't any guarantees in life.

[Waiting For Everyman]

18. (dupe)