No flypaper zone--Libya major/minor

[Crux]

March 18, 2011

 

Top of the morning.

 

It appears we are now in our third war: By authorization of the UN Security Council and a newly-granted express consent from the Arab League, NATO forces will protect civilians of Benghazi and other areas of Libya by "all necessary [airborne] measures."

 

NATO's operations have commenced, with Norway, France, and Britain announcing prepartions to attack within a few hours are underway. Stated interventions include bombing raids against artillery and tanks, while imposing a no-fly zone over the country.

 

Germany abstained from the UN council vote, says it will be keeping its personnel out of the conflict, and gives the reason that warfare is just too fucking dangerous.

 

No word just yet about the Enterprise carrier strike group and other American naval power positioned off Libya over the past few weeks, but at least one indicator points to a particular (yet moving) target for the Tomahawks: “We know what Gaddafi is capable of – the biggest terrorist atrocity on British soil.”

 

Most recently attributed to Gaddafi, are threats to attack civilian air traffic over the Mediterranean.

[prole]

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNNBjbJT6nI

[billcoe]

If every US citizen had to pony up actual out of pocket money up front, say $30,000, to get this war started, especially if the costs included burying Libyan civilians we killed and caring for future disabled US vets, shit like this would never get off the ground.

 

We would be better off served spending 1/2 the money we waste on military imperialism and adventurism around the world on gaining a secure energy source. An R & D adventure like the Manhattan project working on multiple things. You could toss the money out to existing private research projects even and make it simple.

 

The Pentagon hires over 28,000 people who's only job it is to sway public opinion through the media that we're not assholes. That doesn't include the same thing happening in other departments of the government, the CIA budget for influencing the media as well, for instance. ..shit, we'd save a bundle both coming and going if we'd just stop being assholes.

[Lucky Larry]

Thanks Bill, I forgot my pacifism roots, wAr what is it good for--absolutely nothing. baa

 

This sounds a lot like most government/private contract jobs. Hee Haw underestimate cost/overestimate profit sickie

 

Bill: Invariably we underestimate both the time and the costs that we will experience there. Both sides of the US civil war, for instance, thought they were looking at a week or two to get up there into enemy territory, kick some ass and get back home for dinner. Both sides!

Edited March 18, 2011 by Lucky Larry

[tvashtarkatena]

Stand by for another round of surreal YouTubin'.

[billcoe]

Yeah, back when the head goon was building nuclear weapons, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3335965.stm and had sponsored the Pan Am bombing -when we had money coming out of our ears, I would have felt substantially different about all of this. I think if you truly and genuinely identify someone like an Adolf Hitler wanna be in advance and a well timed Cruise Missile can fix it before several million innocents die, then that's worth pulling the trigger on sooner instead of later. Reagan authorized the strike to do just this and sadly all that happened is we killed Gadaffi's little daughter. Yet now things are different: Libya has relinquished their Nuclear and weapons of mass destruction development programs and we've wasted all of our treasure acting the fool over in the sand box, things are decidedly different. To say nothing of the fact that we already have pissed off most Muslims sitting on the fence over our good intentions.

 

Those are my thoughts, certainly Hillary doesn't feel this way. http://amerpundit.com/2011/03/17/report-hillary-clinton-looks-for-exit-angry-over-obama-indecisiveness/

 

The war remains at home and it's all about our budget and Federal Government overspending spending like a drunken sailor craziness currently being discussed in the congress. IMO, this is the big win or lose for our country. Spending more military money won't win the election for Obama, the reverse will be true. He looks like a shoe in to win a 2nd term right now, but if we continue along this vein, as hard as it is to dislodge an incumbent who wants to stay in office, this will pry him out of office. Yet our country will be taking the hit if we can't resolve this crazy spending and balance our energy use/output. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/why-obama-isnt-fighting-t_b_834472.html

 

The US press keeps repeating the mantra that this will be over in couple of days...uhhh, yeah, sure dudes: I'm surprised that some of you will buy that bridge.

[prole]

[video:youtube]

[ivan]

on the positive side, since we don't seem to make anything much in our country anymore beyond munitions, at least somebody oughta be increasing their payroll in these parts?

[j_b]

It appears we are now in our third war

 

It depends how you define "being in a war" (financial, covert military, overt, etc ..), but if one looks at it strictly from the point of view of resource commitment to on-going conflicts: Israel-Palestine, Columbia, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Phillipines, Georgia, Pakistan, Korea, Somalia, more?

Edited March 18, 2011 by j_b

[Lucky Larry]

You bet; Is-not-real certainly sucks up it's share to keep freedom alive--Keep the Fed gusher flow'in, wahoo, it's not texas tea Jed, it's wasp-green-backs.

 

I predict Obama will be assassinated if elected a second term..sorry. ::

 

Bill C, your beginning to sound like me, always with the money talk, why people still refuse to take wall street to jail is a crime in its' self.

Edited March 19, 2011 by Lucky Larry

[Crux]

Tanks roll into Benghazi

[rob]

I wonder why the international community didn't stop us when we were shelling Savanah?

[tvashtarkatena]

We're shootin it up agin

[ivan]

dude, you have to clear out the inventory from time to time - sounds like we've popped off 124 tomahakws in the past few days, about half the number we used in desert storm, according to my exhaustive wikipedia research still, they're 30 year weapons and we, like, ya know, got this big old glut of 'em and they're totally just wasting money sitting around getting dusty on the shelf - if we don't use all these old school reagan-era weapons up soon, how ever will we justify spending 100 billion to engineer an even better way to blow shit up for twice the price of the old way?

 

anyhow, just to keep the tab strait - according to the navy's website, tomahawks cost a bit shy of 600$ k/copy (in '99 dollars), so that's uh, 80 millionish already spent on this noble endeavor? i imagine that's a wee bit more than most cities usual 4th of july outlay, but in truth i probably wouldn't give a shit if the goddamn military would just photgraph each one actually hitting somethign and set it to a snazzy metallica soundtrack

[Crux]

We plan to bring several Tomahawks to Golden Gardens for the Fourth of July. Not the best idea, I know, considering the fireworks restrictions and all the bicycle cops there enforcing the municipal codes an shit, but a buddy works for the railroad and with the evening freight schedule the way it is, we might get 'em right there parked on a flatcar for a real good time. At first we were going do it at Hemp-Fest, kind of crash the party and have the missiles all cloaked in butcher paper to look like giant reefers in order to really surprise all the stoners when the rocket engines fire up. But that party got closed down so fuck it. Anyway, right now, we're thinkin' about takin' out the marker buoy that's there, just off Meadow Point, provided there ain't no seals or sea lions on it. But we are still open to suggestions. Choosing Metallica for the video is almost a certainty: Best idea yet!

[ivan]

hello homeland security!

[rob]

anyhow, just to keep the tab strait - according to the navy's website, tomahawks cost a bit shy of 600$ k/copy (in '99 dollars), so that's uh, 80 millionish already spent on this noble endeavor?

 

but it's a sunk cost -- we already paid for them.

[ivan]

anyhow, just to keep the tab strait - according to the navy's website, tomahawks cost a bit shy of 600$ k/copy (in '99 dollars), so that's uh, 80 millionish already spent on this noble endeavor?

 

but it's a sunk cost -- we already paid for them.

i think the boys will feel nekkid now that they're gone though, and it's not like anyone in charge is gonna tell them no when they ask for a restock, right?

 

i hope this thing works, but the fact that i don't even know what "works" means in this situation isn't a good sign - is there some sorta libyan jeffersonian over there ready to jump up and regulate soon as the big-Q is scragged?

[Mal_Con]

On nice thing is where ever Gaddafi is becomes by definition a "command and control center"

[Choada_Boy]

"We'll fight this war with germs and atoms, destroy our only home. Our mutated descendants battle the next with sticks and stones."

[rob]

I think he's Saddam's long-lost gay lover.

[G-spotter]

Hey Gha -Daffy, Duck

[Jim]

anyhow, just to keep the tab strait - according to the navy's website, tomahawks cost a bit shy of 600$ k/copy (in '99 dollars), so that's uh, 80 millionish already spent on this noble endeavor?

 

but it's a sunk cost -- we already paid for them.

i think the boys will feel nekkid now that they're gone though, and it's not like anyone in charge is gonna tell them no when they ask for a restock, right?

 

i hope this thing works, but the fact that i don't even know what "works" means in this situation isn't a good sign - is there some sorta libyan jeffersonian over there ready to jump up and regulate soon as the big-Q is scragged?

 

You're again asking too many logical questions.

[rob]

yeah, but we needed some new ones, anyway.

 

We also REALLY NEED some more bombers. But those old ones won't do -- we should design some new ones.

[Jim]

Are you a pentagon advisor in your spare time?