So what is our objective in Libya?

[MadHound]

The president laid out his reasoning for our involvement in Libya, namely that it was in our national interest to do so. What our are interests in that region? Oil is the first, and most prominent one that comes to mind.

But going further, there was, once again, no outlining of what our objective is in Libya. According to Obama, it isn't regime change, because he stated explicitly that he wasn't going to use military force to oust Gaddafi. Instead, he is apparently willing to wait for either Gaddafi to step down, die, or be forced out, presumably by the rebels.

So in essence, we're once again involved in an open ended military conflict, with no timeline for ending the hostilities, and no real objective. Much the same was said about Iraq after the first Gulf War, and look where that wound up.

Apparently, we are simply going to continue to use up our own money, material and men in another open ended conflict where there is no true objective. We once again have no idea what victory will look like, or what victory is supposed to be.

But we will be spending our own ever more scarce resources to make the wealthy, powerful elite of the Military Industrial Complex even richer. With every round fired, with every bomb dropped, that is more wealth that will be transferred to the top of the socioeconomic ladder, while the rest of us continue to descend deeper into poverty and despair.

That is, like all military conflicts since WWII, the true objective of this war, to further enrich the MIC, and further impoverish the rest of us.

[Little Star]

1. We'll make up the objectives as we go along just like...

GWB did with Iraq. One day we are there for this reason, tomorrow we'll be there for another.

[anarch]

2. my guess would be a three-fold goal

1. defeat the Libyan military forces

2. depose Col. Kghagagdfiffe

3. install a new client regime that will allow for favorable trade arrangements

[MadHound]

4. But wait, didn't Obama just say that we're not going to depose Gaddafi militarily?

So that means either we wait him out, expend our resources to keep the NFZ going indefinitely. Or we wait until the Libyan rebels depose him, also an indefinite proposition.

[anarch]

6. Mr. Obama is a politician

He has to say certain things. Also, I think the tactic here is to...umm..."help" the rebels win this fight...since it's their fight and all, we're just protecting the innocent. But that will still accomplish the goal.

[snappyturtle]

3. You nailed it. What I found at fault tonight was what I didn't hear. nt

[Exilednight]

5. You'd have an easier time finding Waldo. n/t

[jaxx]

7. You must have missed the speech.

<..>The task that I assigned our forces -– to protect the Libyan people from immediate danger, and to establish a no-fly zone -– carries with it a U.N. mandate and international support. It’s also what the Libyan opposition asked us to do. If we tried to overthrow Qaddafi by force, our coalition would splinter. We would likely have to put U.S. troops on the ground to accomplish that mission, or risk killing many civilians from the air. The dangers faced by our men and women in uniform would be far greater. So would the costs and our share of the responsibility for what comes next.

To be blunt, we went down that road in Iraq. Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our troops and the determination of our diplomats, we are hopeful about Iraq’s future. But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars. That is not something we can afford to repeat in Libya.

As the bulk of our military effort ratchets down, what we can do -- and will do -- is support the aspirations of the Libyan people. We have intervened to stop a massacre, and we will work with our allies and partners to maintain the safety of civilians. We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supplies of cash, assist the opposition, and work with other nations to hasten the day when Qaddafi leaves power. It may not happen overnight, as a badly weakened Qaddafi tries desperately to hang on to power. But it should be clear to those around Qaddafi, and to every Libyan, that history is not on Qaddafi’s side. With the time and space that we have provided for the Libyan people, they will be able to determine their own destiny, and that is how it should be.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/28/remarks-president-address-nation-libya

[MadHound]

8. Nope, didn't miss his speech,

And again, what is the objective in this war? What will victory look like and when will it happen?

[jaxx]

10. It's not a war. It's a no-fly zone.

Victory is done, they can't fly planes in the air space. Don't try to make more of it than it is. Projecting failure isn't productive.

[MadHound]

11. Let's see, we're flying military missions,

We're killing people, innocent and otherwise, we're engaged in fighting.

And yet it isn't a war? Wow, your talent for using semantics to obfuscate the obvious is positively Rumsfeld-like.

Victory is done? Really? Then let's pack up and go home.

Oh, wait, we can't do that, now can we. Otherwise our client fighters on the ground, ie the rebels, wouldn't have any air cover and Gaddafi's planes would fly. So we're stuck there, in a war, indefinitely.

[dkf]

13. Yup. Stuck. Again...1991-2003 Iraq.

[jaxx]

14. You think I am like Rumsfeld?

Let me return the favor, I think you are like done.

[MadHound]

15. LOL! Thanks for proving my point perfectly.

I say that you have a "talent for using semantics to obfuscate the obvious is positively Rumsfeld-like." And you twist that to say that I'm stating that you're like Rumsfeld.

Again, thanks for proving my point so well.

[Exilednight]

12. We're not hopeful about Iraq. There's a reason we haven't pulled out of our troops yet

Obama is playing a waiting game. He called an end to hostilities and pulled out our uniformed combat troops and replaced them with armed contractors to take their place. Once enough time has passed, Obama will pull the contractors and the rest of our "support" troops and all hell will break loose. But we have to give it a good face and make it look like we gave them a form of stability.

It's a con game, and people are falling for it.

[Canuckistanian]

9. If it isn't OBVIOUS, it isn't valid

War should never be pursued if the original objective needs to be EXPLAINED to the people.

It's time to get out.