...Should the West Arm Libya's Rebels?

[Guest]

...It's certainly a question-as though defeating Gadaffi at all costs is the only issue!
And we have no guarantee any one Libyian "Rebel" is better than another?(Gadaffi)
Your Thoughts...

[Freddie Campbell]

...Com'on Scotty- where are you?

[Petrushka]

This is classic mission creep. Has the West learnt nothing from the debacle in Iraq?

We should have stayed well out of it, let them get on with it then dealt with whoever is in power.

It really is that simple.

[amateur51]

So it is OK to just sit back and let Gaddafi's troops kill, maim, rape and pillage? Because that is what was happening/was going to happen.

that is what's happening, surely

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13168678

[scottycelt]

...Com'on Scotty- where are you?

I'm here, Freddie ... don't panic! .

My totally amateurish armchair opinion on a matter I know virtually nothing about?

Well, if it hadn't been for the Iraq 'baggage' the Libyan episode would have been over almost from Day 1 and Gaddafi would be gone by now. However, I'm not entirely sure who would have taken over, probably another army colonel with pro-Western leanings?

I'm also not convinced that the 'rebels' speak for the majority of Libyans any more than the current regime. This undoubted thug (Gaddafi) still seems to have considerable support, and that, I'm afraid, is the plain fact of the matter.

Let's just hope that something unexpected and good comes out of yet another Middle Eastern mess. Sadly, I'm not exactly holding my breath in anticipation, though.

[Freddie Campbell]

...Then there is the Oil dimention- Gadaffi's trump card...

[Petrushka]

So it is OK to just sit back and let Gaddafi's troops kill, maim, rape and pillage? Because that is what was happening/was going to happen.

So it's OK to just sit back and let our planes kill and maim other human beings who pose no threat to us?

I get the feeling that naive Western politicians were thinking re Gadaffi that they only had to kick open the door and the whole rotten edifice would come tumbling down.

[amateur51]

Here we go again ....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13143988

Military advisers?

Sound familiar?

From wikipedia: "Military advisors, or combat advisors, are soldiers sent to foreign nations to aid that nation with its military training, organization, and other various military tasks. These soldiers are often sent to aid a nation without the potential casualties and political ramifications of actually mobilizing military forces to aid a nation. In the early 1960s, elements of the U.S. Army Special Forces and Echo 31 were sent to South Vietnam as military advisors to train and assist the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) for impending actions against the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN)."


Do politicians & military types not read history any more??

[amateur51]

Completely different world stage then compared to now. Communism was perceived as the main threat and the raison d'etre for Vietnam.

So you believe everything in wikipedia then? Or only those articles that support your world view?

I know that the basics of research are beyond you, from past experience. Substitute 'militant Islam' for 'communism' and you might see what I mean.

But I'm not holding my breath

Edit: And today we learn that 'the tribes' around misrata are getting fed up with the NATO support for the rebels and plan to sort them out themselves. Well done the West!

[Freddie Campbell]

...Certainly a "Hot Potato" & never black & white- but I would basically agree with Scotty on this one...

[amateur51]

No. Your article is a complete red-herring and a non-sequitur

Your fine words leave my parsnips unbuttered, BTS. What do you mean?

[vinteuil]

hot potatoes, red herrings, parsnips.

I'm sure Eudaimonia will come along with a recipe soon...

[amateur51]

hot potatoes, red herrings, parsnips.

I'm sure Eudaimonia will come along with a recipe soon...

She's a game girl, our Euda!

Well done, vinteuil!

[Freddie Campbell]

...Just don't expect Campbell's Soup on this one...

[eighthobstruction]

What chance an International Liberation Force....similar to that of the Spanish Civil war....guns and ammunition made available in the Duty Free shop....