Arab League now CRITICIZING the coalition airstrikes!

[woolldog]

These people are unbelievable.

****
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/03/libya-airstrikes-military-tripoli-kadafi.html

A coordinated attack by Western forces targeting Libyan air capabilities and armor appears to have succeeded in damaging Libyan military installations and armor, but Arab support for the no-fly zone may be waning.
Arab League head Amr Moussa told reporters Sunday that the Arab league thought the use of force was excessive following an overnight bombing campaign that Libya claims killed at least 48 people.
"What we want is civilians' protection, not shelling more civilians," he was quoted saying by the Associated Press.

[Buzz Clik]

1. People can be fickle.

[whatchamacallit]

32. BOG Reality

is whatever it needs to be

[Baclava]

33. Winning the hearts and minds is never easy.

They wanted regime change - they got it.


Death from above.

[ananda]

2. What did they think would happen...

... with so many people, including civilians, in harm's way?

[Wilms]

3. Buyers remorse? n/t

[vaberella]

4. Basically what the Arab league is calling for is ground troops. n/t

[Tatiana]

5. This was completely predictable. They set a trap and we fell for it.

More anti-American sentiment will be fostered in that region as a result of our participation in this so-called "humanitarian" effort.

The Arab League supported regime change and is lucky enough to have us do the dirty work of losing the hearts and minds of a good portion of the Libyan people.

[sofa king]

25. I'm afraid I don't understand the AL and the UN enough.

In my uninformed optimism, it seemed to me the logical solution was for the UN to support an intervention, and for AL nations to carry it out, with AL troops on the ground with logistical and back-end support from NATO.

I think one observation that has yet to be widely made is that it was President Clinton who found a way to "gently" intervene in a civil war without being drawn in too heavily, as practiced in the former Yugoslavia. I'm not saying that intervening there was justifiable, rather that it's somewhat amazing that such an intervention came off as well as it did, because one time-honored military history lesson is that it is never a good idea to intervene in a civil war.

Similar practices were used to good effect for about six weeks in Afghanistan, but six weeks of wise management at the outset of the Afghanistan war was about the sum total of all the wise management the Bush Administration ever performed, and it was all downhill after that.

That's the crux of the problem: because a civil war is usually marked by escalating animosity, improving ability to deal death, and a perpetually degrading set of mutually agreed-upon niceties, it is very difficult for third parties to avoid being dragged along with that trend. Soon, third parties are forced to protect themselves with overwhelming force, which in turn makes them appear as self-interested invaders, and can turn elements of both warring sides against them.

Worse still, the losing side always has the option to disperse and resort to guerilla and terrorist tactics in order to continue the war--see Iraq, Afghanistan, the Tamil Tigers, and so on. Witness our own Ku Klux Klan, which would have been a much more powerful and annoying force were it not for the single-handed example of Robert E. Lee's honorable surrender and commitment to reconciliation. Mo Khadafy is no Bobby Lee.

I don't even know what I'm trying to say, here. It's just sad. The world is in flames now, thanks to those evil Republicans, and we're already about two wars past the number we can and should be able to fight. If we didn't have the shackles of Iraq and Afghanistan around our ankles, the United States really could be an instrument of peace-making and democracy. But now we're condemned to always have to go in too late with too little, with predictably poor results.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

29. The Arab League purchased a LOT of military hardware over the years...

Where are they? The league countries could impose a no fly zone without our help. they have the planes, pilots, friendly Muslim countries next door for bases.

The West is doing this for free.
If the League doesn't like it, well...You get what you pay for.

This is why I'm against this: WE.DON'T.NEED.TO.BE.INVOLVED.

[BeFree]

6. well

It was touted as a "No-fly Zone" and now they are killing everything that moves.

See, the warmongerers always fly off the handle everytime we give them an inch.
They couldn't care less who dies as long as the killing commences.

Fucking savages!

[woolldog]

9. Well everyone was warned by Gates and Obama

and Clinton about what a no fly zone entailed. It's an act of war and aggression. Nobody has the right to be surprised about what's happening. It's pure hypocrisy by the Arabs and an attempt to have their cake and eat it too.

They will criticize the US no matter what we do. If we don't act or when we do.

[vaberella]

11. The Arab league bloody voted for a NFZ----knowing full well what it entailed.

Don't defend these jerks by calling our people "savages."

[BeFree]

16. Full well?

Ok... so what does this fully entail?

This Orwellian spin has me confused. No-fly now means all out war?

[vaberella]

17. Where was war menioned?

This is what it is:

• It authorises UN member states "to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory''.

• It decides to "establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians", exempting humanitarian flights, and authorises member states and Arab League nations "acting nationally or through regional organisations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/18/un-security-council-resolution-key-points?INTCMP=SRCH

They knew what it was and they bloody well asked for it:

In Cairo, the Arab League asked the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone to protect the rebels, increasing pressure on the U.S. and other Western powers to take action that most have expressed deep reservations about.

In surprisingly swift action and aggressive language, the 22-member Arab bloc said after an emergency meeting that the Libyan government had "lost its sovereignty." It asked the United Nations to "shoulder its responsibility ... to impose a no-fly zone over the movement of Libyan military planes and to create safe zones in the places vulnerable to airstrikes."

Western diplomats have said Arab and African approval was necessary before the Security Council voted on imposing a no-fly zone, which would be imposed by NATO nations such as the U.S., France, Britain and Italy to protect civilians from air attack by Gadhafi's forces.

The U.S. and other countries have expressed deep reservations about the effectiveness of a no-fly zone and the possibility it could drag them into another messy conflict in the Muslim world.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2011/03/12/gadhafi-pushes-ahead-arab-league-calls-help/

It means that air strikes can happen and would happen and now they're claiming they're against air strike?! It doesn't make sense. The UN was very clear and they went for it and pushed it. Now they're playing this game and you're helping them...please.

[BeFree]

19. Oh?

They bombed tanks?

Since when did they invent flying tanks?

The idea is to protect citizens. I get that. But we can't do it in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Pakistan, so what makes you think we can do it in Libya?

A no-fly zone means in the air. NOT the ground too.
The Arab league f'n lives there and here you are telling them to STFU?

[JBoy]

22. The resolution was not just for a no-fly zone. Reading is often helpful.

[BeFree]

23. Arab league opposes the UN resolution

DUH!

They agreed to a no-fly zone, not to this added bombing.

You might try to read more and understand others and their fear of the US and Britain and French who tried to colonize them once before?

But it it makes you all warm and fuzzy that bombs are finally flying, then maybe you just will never understand - until they drop one on your head?

[meow mix]

7. lets ask the Col. what he thinks

“They were retreating,” said Col. Abdullah al-Shafi, an officer in the rebel forces which had clamored desperately for the help that arrived

“Soldiers had taken civilians cars and fled. They were ditching their fatigues.”

[no_hypocrisy]

8. Fake-out

[ProSense]

10. Sounds like RW spin

Here is a video (Second clip is Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa)

The quote in the article and video do not match.

Reuters: Arabs say Gaddafi must go, wary of Western action

Sounds like a meme being pushed by the media: Gaddafi must go.

[elleng]

12. Discussion on AlJaz now.

[woolldog]

13. They're talking about sports now

on AJE.....

[vaberella]

18. They're back on topic. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

14. They may not have give sufficient thought to the implications

If you see the footage of tanks etc which have been hit by missiles with cars still just driving past the chances of no civilian casualties is nil.

[woolldog]

21. Doubt those cars were civilian cars (nt)

[dipsydoodle]

24. I take it you've not seen the footage.

.

[woolldog]

26. Of course I have

You're nuts if you think Benghazi civilians are driving out in the desert on the outskirts of the city next to the quadaffi tanks. Those vehicles are used to transport troops. Both pro and anti Q forces are using those types of vehicles to get around. Normal civilians aren't going to be driving around close to Qs armor or driving at all for that matter

[dipsydoodle]

28. Presumably the film crew walked there

:sarcasm:

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jenmito]

20. Bull. Obama wouldn't even have gone ALONG with this if it weren't for the Arab League and the UN

WANTING us to.

[MikeW]

27. suprise, suprise, suprise.

:puke:

[flpoljunkie]

30. Didn't Amr Moussa resign to run for Egypt presidency?

[ReturnoftheDjedi]

31. and then they voted in favor of the no fly zone again