The Civil War in Libya

SampanViking said:

So it appears that there is no Carrier to take a lead and the Europeans are only just starting to get there act together.

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Libya 'to halt military action'

So despite pushing for a resolution, which is (let us not beat about the bush) technically a declaration of war, those pushing have not agreed a force, a mission or a command structure and have not yet started preparing forward airbases from which the missions will be flown. In short a complete horlicks and one that just reinforces the notion that the parties were so convinced that the UN Resolution would fail, that they did not even bother going through the motions of preparation and organisation.

Gadaffi has played a smart card in his cease fire as a Nato; no matter how unwilling, would be able to galvanise its response in the wake of a breach by Gadaffi of the Resolution order. Instead a coalition of the unwilling will be trying to cobble together a mission for a situation that is not actually happening. Under such conditions, the mission is in danger of actually falling apart before it is put together. This will be something no doubt that Gadaffi is hoping for.

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So it appears that there is no Carrier to take a lead and the Europeans are only just starting to get there act together.

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USS Enterprise (CVN 65) - 5th Fleet..Persian Gulf region
USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) - 5th Fleet..Persian Gulf region
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) - Pacific Ocean..en-route to the US after completing deployment.
USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) - Pacific Ocean..near Japan

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pla101prc said:

dude they are only against AMERICAN involvement, but they support the UN resolution, which did not say the US has to be in it

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bd popeye said:

Ah ha! I found a poll with similar results that I thought I heard..

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It was >>> 65% against 25% in favor and 9% unsure

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Public Wary of Military Intervention in Libya

March 14, 2011



The public by a wide margin says the United States does not have a responsibility to do something about the fighting between government forces and anti-government groups in Libya. And while opinion is divided over enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya, this view is undercut by the fact that Americans overwhelmingly oppose bombing Libyan military air defenses.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted March 10-13 among 1,001 adults, finds that 63% say the United States does not have a responsibility to act in Libya; fewer than half as many (27%) say the U.S. has this responsibility. Opinion about U.S. responsibility to take action in Libya is comparable to views about the conflict between Serbs and Bosnians in 1995; just 30% said the U.S. had a responsibility in that case. By contrast, far more Americans said the U.S. had a responsibility to take action in Kosovo in 1999 and in the Darfur crisis of 2007.

Reflecting the public's reluctance about U.S. involvement in Libya, barely half (51%) favor increasing economic and diplomatic sanctions against Libya. The public is divided over the possibility of enforcing a no-fly zone -- 44% favor this action while 45% are opposed. Yet just 16% favor bombing Libyan air defenses -- 77% oppose bombing the sites. And large majorities reject providing arms to anti-government groups (69%) and sending troops into Libya (82%).

Thinking about the Middle East more generally, Americans see regional stability as more important than increasing democracy. In a separate survey conducted March 8-13, 52% say it is more important to have stable governments in the Middle East even if there is less democracy; 38% say it is more important to have democratic governments in the region, even if there is less stability.

Democrats are evenly divided over priorities for the Middle East: 47% say it is more important to have stable governments while nearly as many (43%) say it is more important to have stability. By wider margins, Republicans

Arguments Against and For Using Force

Roughly half of Americans (54%) say that the best argument for not using military force in Libya is that U.S. military forces are already overcommitted. Far fewer (19%) say the best argument for not using force is that opposition groups in Libya may be no better than the current government or that Libya is not of vital interest to the United States (13%).

Opinions about the arguments against the use of force are similar among those who say the U.S. has a responsibility to act in Libya and those who disagree. Roughly half in each group say the strongest argument for not using force is that the U.S. military is overstretched.

The most often cited argument for using military force in Libya is that it is important to show that America backs democracy. Roughly a third (32%) say this is the strongest argument for using force. Roughly one-in-five (21%) say the best argument is that removing Col. Qaddafi from power will win the support of the Libyan people while about the same number (20%) says the U.S. has a moral obligation to stop the violence.

Those who say the United States has a responsibility to act in Libya are far more likely to cite the moral obligation argument than are those who say the U.S. has no responsibility. Nearly four-in-ten (39%) of those who see a responsibility for the U.S. in Libya say the best argument for using force is that the U.S. has a moral obligation to stop the violence. That compares with just 13% of those who say the U.S. has no responsibility to do something in Libya.

Few Say U.S. Has Responsibility to Act

The view that the United States does not have a responsibility to act in Libya is shared widely across demographic and political groups. Majorities across gender, age and educational groups say the United States does not have a responsibility to do something about the fighting there.

Just 33% of Democrats say the U.S. has a responsibility to take action in Libya, as do 27% of Republicans and 24% of independents. Slightly more than a third (36%) of those who are following news from Libya very closely say the U.S. has a responsibility to do something about the fighting there. That compares with just 23% of those who are following news from Libya less closely.

Find the topline questionnaire and survey methodology at people-press.org.

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I'm hoping this resolution won't stop Qaddafi's move east -- I don't support the guy in any sense of the word but I do think it's better for the world to have a devil you know, especially when the particular country control's so much oil.

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bd popeye said:

You want him to win but do not support him. What? So you are supporting this murderous thug? Your statement is reprehensible in my opinion.

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