Weekly Address: The Military Mission in Libya

[cal04]

Run time: 04:15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2S2J4jXATk   Posted on YouTube: March 26, 2011 By YouTube Member: whitehouse Views on YouTube: 237   Posted on DU: March 26, 2011 By DU Member: cal04 Views on DU: 861

 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/26/weekly-address-president-obama-says-mission-libya-succeeding

[unhappycamper]

1. And the Department of Death sez:

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of Joint Staff, listens March 24 during a news briefing at the Pentagon.


NATO reluctant to take command of Libya strikes
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 25, 2011 16:30:05 EDT

Forging a new military chain of command is complicated by the NATO alliance’s agreement Thursday night to take over enforcement of the no-fly zone, but its reluctance to assume the portion of the mission that involves air strikes on Libyan military ground forces.



Great exit plan, guys.

[MrTriumph]

2. It is not our fight. There is no exit plan and nor clear objective.

And the rebels may very well be more trouble for the US than the regime.

[Butch350]

4. No clear objective????

WTH you been the past 5-6 years. Tell me you're not really this naive? PLEASE.

Get out a big world map. Focus on N Africa and the middle east - now locate all the US military bases in the area.

Now add Israel for flavor and see if you can come up with any clear objectives.

Just like chess. You put all your pieces in place. Then...

[rtassi]

13. spot on! n/t

[Weird Liberal Head]

3. Good video

A good video, but not a great video. I think the president did a good job explaining why we are there and what we are doing there, but he gave no exit plan nor a clear objective.

[bobbolink]

5. I'm counting on you, Mr. President, to live up to this, and hold the line.

This is one time when I appreciate what you are doing, and will "hope" that you follow through with this in the way you have promised.

A couple of things you left out... That huge Ghadafi military caravan that was headed to Benghazi was just a short ways away when the bombing started. Had that caravan reached Benghazi,that city would have been obliterated. After seeing the video of that caravan, I understood why the decision had to be THEN. Once the people are slaughtered, they couldn't be brught back, and G., in no uncertain terms, promised to slaughter them.

The second thing you left out, in your justification for taking action, was not just the threat to the Libyan people, but that they had already formed an organized opposition to this brutal dictator, PLUS, they had petitioned the UN for weeks... BEGGED them, to set up a no fly zone.

Many other countries have not done those two important things. This wasnn't a unilateral action... the LIBYANS asked the UN to take action.

Mr. President,my fingers are crossed, my prayers are offered daily, and I'm counting on you to keep this to what you have promised.

[center rising]

6. We'll see what he has to say Monday night

I think the more pressure is put on Gaddafi, and his inner circle, the faster this gets done. That's the key, pressure on Gaddafi and his inner circle.

[bobbolink]

12. That's what many of us are thinking. It is agonizing, but reality.

Regarding your words: This is what one observer is saying (This presupposes that you saw the video of the G forces caravan headed for Benghazi when the bombing started):

"It was a gamble (for Ghadafous) But had the world delayed another 24h it would have payed off. With that column rolling into Bengazi we would have been seeing the end of the Libyan revolution. As for how retarded Mad Dog was to fight at Ajdabiya, the loyalists didn't really have much choise. The flat open ground on the south coast of the Syrten bay is probably the worst ground imaginable for mechanized forces to evade air attacks. Either stay and die fighting or run and get shot in the back. It is not as if there are anywhere to run to short of the more broken terrain back west. Staying and fighting while hoping the air campaign would be brief was probably the best of the bad options."
"I doubt the Ajdabiya garrison escaped at all. They were surrounded on the ground and eventually the West realized that they were using the city as a shield (as well as a punching bag) against being attacked from the air. It was costing many more civilian lives not bombing the Gaddafy forces and prolonging the city's agony, than going after them."

It is all a huge tragedy being brought on by one monster, and the options are few and not nice.

Many of us heard the pleas of the Libyans, and agree with the action, and are hoping and praying this comes out well. This isn't a movie... we don't know the ending. We can only pray for the best at this point.

[JJW]

7. Blood for Oil

Had we invested in renewable instead of war & weapons, we'd be energy independent.

We haven't had any leadership since the 60s.

[rtassi]

14. +1

[South End Liberal]

8. Candidate Obama said what President Obama did was unconstitutional

Eleven months before the November 2008 presidential election, CANDIDATE Barack Obama told the Boston Globe in an interview that the President “does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.” As in OUR nation.

CANDIDATE Obama stated that PRESIDENT Obama did not have the right to order air strikes on Libya without Congressional approval. (And don't give me that crap about air strikes not being military attacks -- dropping bombs on people IS a military attack!)

I agree with CANDIDATE Obama. President Obama has violated the Constitution on this one. Tell me, if Bush had done this while he was president, would the discussion now be different on this site?

Wrong is wrong, no matter which party is in power.

All over the country, our bridges are crumbling, water and sewer systems are in need of updating, school buildings are going without repairs because of budget constraints, people are living in tents because they lost their homes in the real estate bust, local governments are cutting programs & servies left and right to address budget deficits because of federal cut backs. Washington has run up federal deficits so high that they may, at some point not too far off in the future, collapse our dollar altogether.... and we are now being lead into the costs (both $$ and human lives)of a 3rd war in the middle east area. Will the start of World War 3 be on Obama's hands?

[KoKo]

10. That's what so many of us are concerned about. Nice Post "SEL"...

[grahamhgreen]

9. If we can afford this war, we can afford ALL SOCIAL SPENDING, right?

[bobbolink]

11. Yes, you are correct. It isn't either/or. Cancel that damned tax cut for the most wealthy!

The RW has won with their meme that we are "broke".

We are the richest country in the world... we just give it to the rich.

[Name removed]

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