I'm not sure why, but every time I hear about a Libyan No Fly Zone, I get a mental image of the great balloons & blunderbusses duel from the motion picture "Those Magnificent Men and their Flying Machines".
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I'm not sure why, but every time I hear about a Libyan No Fly Zone, I get a mental image of the great balloons & blunderbusses duel from the motion picture "Those Magnificent Men and their Flying Machines".
Right now, no boots, no bombs. It's not our business yet. His refineries and pumps are idled. In Libya, as despicable as he is, I worry more about what's left IF they get him out of power. I this case, I believe the old adage, "The evil you know is often better than the one you don't". If Libyans want him out, then let thm get him out.
Bit like every time I hear about the motion picture "Hondo", I get a mental image of Foghorn Leghorn playing the main character instead of John Wayne.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondo
Two questions. First, did you feel the same about the Taliban in Afghanistan or Saddam Hussein? Second, how are we to find out whether the Libyans 'want him out'? Should we conduct an opinion poll and decide on that basis? It may very well be that a majority of Libyans do want him to go. Quite clearly, though, the rebels lack logistics support and firepower at the present time.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigelred5
Well, it might be easier said than done, but on the other hand the Libyan military has never been that formidable an adversary, and the capabilities of the country's armed forces have certainly not improved since they performed so poorly in the war in Chad during the mid-late 1980s.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Riebe
I really don't think it's a matter of degree of difficulty being a factor in taking out Libyan
command and control, and creating a no fly zone. The U.S. is being prudent in this matter. This is starting to look more and more like a popular uprising gone bad IMO. If the US goes in I think they want a coalition of forces from the UK, France, Italy, and a couple of African countries at least. I think the U.S. could practically do the entire job with cruise missiles, and drones. I'm of the opinion that the players in the west still think there is a chance of talking him out of there. This is starting to look less and less likely, althouh I think that once the big guns start to fire, Ghaddafi may regain his senses quite rapidly and cut a deal to leave. Ghaddafi has always been a paper tiger that talks a good game. He has very little military power, just enough to subjugate his citizens and little else. JMHO
I agree with all of that, particularly the last sentence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Alcatraz
Here we go again…Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Alcatraz
Cruise missiles and other expendable munitions that cost cost several million $’s. Not to mention the cost of clean-up and rebuilding the damage. Likely to cost upwards of several $100M’s when all is said and done.
Just a thought… how about offering Ghaddafi and his cronies a bag of cash each in return for stepping down from power without a struggle. In the long run it would likely be a cheaper option with a lot less physical damage :mark:
I don't think Mr Alcatraz' post was advocating that as an option, to be honest — at least that's not what I took it to mean. I would emphasise his use of the word 'could', i.e. 'has the ability to be able to'.Quote:
Originally Posted by schmenke
I don't think Ghaddafi is short of cash, his body guards and military might however take the offer.Quote:
Originally Posted by schmenke