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No Fly zones over Libya?

richardm said:
One of his "alternatives" is that you can safely ignore air defences until they shoot at you. I'm not sure if he's checked this plan over with anyone from the RAF yet.
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Not as far out as you might think. One of the big problems with air defences is finding the things. Waiting for an attempt at a radar lock is one way of doing this.
 
Wesley Clark said:
In Libya, we don't know who the rebels really are or how a legitimate government would be formed if Gaddafi were pushed out.
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This point is key.

One essential requirement for military intervention on the side of the rebels is they have to offer a significantly improved government compared to Gaddafi. That means some kind of democratic system without violent tribal infighting.
I don't know if they satisfy that requirement.
 
egslim said:
This point is key.

One essential requirement for military intervention on the side of the rebels is they have to offer a significantly improved government compared to Gaddafi. That means some kind of democratic system without violent tribal infighting.
I don't know if they satisfy that requirement.
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From what seems to be coming from Washington lately, they don't, or at least so do their analysts think. That's the only possible reason to essentially permit Ghadaffi to pull this one off. The window of opporunity is already extremely narrow, Benghazi will be a battlefield within the week if no major changes take place. I would say that without foreign intervention the rebellion will be all but defeated within a fortnight at the most.

McHrozni
 
US hopes for vote no later than Thursday:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-libya-usa-clinton-vote-idUSTRE72F6X220110316

Reuters said:
U.S. officials have talked about their desire to see Arab participation and leadership but have not gone so far as to say whether this meant Arab pilots taking part in any no-fly zone operation.
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Clinton says the Arab League decision changed a lot of minds:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...ue-vote-for-no-fly-zone-changed-minds-1-.html

Bloomberg said:
Clinton said it was crucial for the U.S. to act with allies. “I want to see what we can get out of the United Nations, because there is no way that the United States will take unilateral action on any of these issues," she told CBS News. ‘‘We are not going to act alone. There would be unforeseen consequences to that, that I believe would be detrimental.’’
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McHrozni said:
From what seems to be coming from Washington lately, they don't, or at least so do their analysts think. That's the only possible reason to essentially permit Ghadaffi to pull this one off. The window of opporunity is already extremely narrow, Benghazi will be a battlefield within the week if no major changes take place. I would say that without foreign intervention the rebellion will be all but defeated within a fortnight at the most.

McHrozni
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And then we will have a whole can of worms to deal with, since both Khadaffi seems to have burned all their bridges behind them. Expect a long series of confrontrations between Khadaffi and the West.
 
So what good does a no-fly zone even do at this point? Barring outside intervention, Khadaffi's got them licked.
 
A No Fly Zone is going to involve "outside intervention" to enforce. Let's face it, they will find a way to justify general air strikes against Khaddafy's Military in general....

I just read the resolution. It also allows any means necessary to protect civilians. His ground forces are fair game.
 
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Bell said:
Great. And when does this no-fly zone gets implemented? After the rebels in Benghazi are eradicated? But thanks for the effort UN.
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It might be late, but it's too early to say that it's too late.
 
Wesley Clark was just on CNN, and stated that his Wapo article was written before Gadaffi's Bengazi Will Pay FOr It's Treason rant last night, and now he feels that military intervention is necessary to stop a massacre. He is still worried about a slippery slope, but feels that Gadaffi has left no choice but intervention.
His rant yesteday was incredibly stupid. It was so toxic that even his semi supporters China and Russia felt they could no longer support him.
 
WildCat said:
So what good does a no-fly zone even do at this point? Barring outside intervention, Khadaffi's got them licked.
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:D UN gave kill authority - anything moving east that looks like an unfriendly is a target from the air!! That is how to fight - make them beware our skill set, don't go where they can use theirs.:D:D:D
 
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