Why is the UN Taking Sides in Libya?

[Bill Thompson]

The whole "murderous dictator" thing is a non-issue, of course.

Labels. Because we label someone something we should hate him? You don't make any sense. We should want him killed because how we label him?

Many countries kill people who oppose the laws of the country. The United States is one of them.

Wait a second.... does this have anything to do with the fact that we have a Democrat for president? It is OK for a president to topple the leader of another nation, just as long as the president who does it is not a Republican? Well, after Khadaffi is gone, I know there won't be any Republicans stupid enough to protest that there were no WMD's in Libya like the Democrats did after Iraq was invaded. By the way, we did NOT invade Iraq because of beliefs in WMD's. We would have to invade a heck of a lot of nations if that is why we invade countries.

 

[KingMerv00]

Labels. Because we label someone something we should hate him? You don't make any sense. We should want him killed because how we label him?

Many countries kill people who oppose the laws of the country. The United States is one of them.

Wait a second.... does this have anything to do with the fact that we have a Democrat for president? It is OK for a president to topple the leader of another nation, just as long as the president who does it is not a Republican? Well, after Khadaffi is gone, I know there won't be any Republicans stupid enough to protest that there were no WMD's in Libya like the Democrats did after Iraq was invaded. By the way, we did NOT invade Iraq because of beliefs in WMD's. We would have to invade a heck of a lot of nations if that is why we invade countries.

Wow. I don't know where to start.

1) Yes it is a label. It is an accurate label and that label is bad. I feel very very uncomfortable supporting dictators regardless of their political leanings. Anything less is a moral shortcoming.

2) False equivalency between the death penalty and wholesale massacre of protesters. The primary difference being due process. (I'm anti-death penalty for the record.)

3) No. This has absolutely nothing, I repeat NOTHING to do with the fact the president is a democrat. A suggestion to the contrary is so crazy as to be delusional.

4) The UN has merely frozen the financial assets of Muammar Gaddafi and his thuggish supporters and instituted an arms embargo. Even that wasn't done until Muammar started BOMBING his own people. This is absolutely nothing like the invasion of Iraq.

5) The invasion of Iraq was ostensibly about WMD's. More specifically Saddam (another loon) getting WMD's.

6) Wow.

 

[Cleon]

Labels.

When it comes to Qaddafi, "murderous dictator" is as generous a "label" as it gets.

Because we label someone something we should hate him? You don't make any sense.

You're defending this murderous thug, and I don't make any sense?

We should want him killed because how we label him?

It's up to the Libyans to decide whether or not to kill him. I want him out of power because he's a murderous, vicious, dictatorial bastard. Is that not a good reason to want him out of power?

Many countries kill people who oppose the laws of the country. The United States is one of them.

Seriously? "Oppose the laws of the country?" That's how you're going to spin his massacre of protestors?

Wait a second.... does this have anything to do with the fact that we have a Democrat for president?

Uh...No.

It is OK for a president to topple the leader of another nation, just as long as the president who does it is not a Republican?

I haven't said anything about the president toppling Qaddafi. Nor do I support Obama invading or bombing Libya. You fail.

Well, after Khadaffi is gone,

Soon, inshallah.

I know there won't be any Republicans stupid enough to protest that there were no WMD's in Libya like the Democrats did after Iraq was invaded. By the way, we did NOT invade Iraq because of beliefs in WMD's. We would have to invade a heck of a lot of nations if that is why we invade countries.

I have no idea what you're babbling on about, here.

 

[KingMerv00]

Well, we, for one, should. He has been an ally agains Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

We helped Osama fight the Russians too. I don't recall that one ever biting us in the ass.

I am sick of the "enemy of my enemy" approach to world politics. It needs to stop.

 

[Pardalis]

Soon, inshallah.

I thought you were an atheist.

 

[Bill Thompson]

Wow. I don't know where to start.

1) Yes it is a label. It is an accurate label and that label is bad. I feel very very uncomfortable supporting dictators regardless of their political leanings. Anything less is a moral shortcoming.

It is not an accurate label at all. We seem to be suffering from selective memory. It was the United States that shot down fighter jets from Libya. It was the United States that shot down (first) a passenger jet from Libya (albiet the salors who launched the missle say they thought the jet was a bomb). Does that make the United States a terrorist country? And let's not forget the United States bombed the hell out of his house -- is the USA in the business of asassination of the head of a nation? And those bombs killed his own daughter. Would the USA be so kind of a nation that bombed the White House and killed Obama or Bush's daughters? Would a US leader decide to later make peace as Ghadaffi had decided to make peace with the West? This does not sound like a dictator to me.

He is not a dictator. Khadaffi is not a dictator and Libya is not a dictatorship. I suggest you read The Green Book it is available online in many languages.

Do not believe the media. There are biased and they are not in business to tell the whole truth. They only exist to keep your attention so that you will stay tuned during commercials.

 

[Bill Thompson]

We helped Osama fight the Russians too. I don't recall that one ever biting us in the ass.

I am sick of the "enemy of my enemy" approach to world politics. It needs to stop.

But, at the same time, Khadaffi has been officially our ally recently and has helped us in the so-called "war on terrorism".

 

[Cleon]

It is not an accurate label at all. We seem to be suffering from selective memory. It was the United States that shot down fighter jets from Libya. It was the United States that shot down (first) a passenger jet from Libya (albiet the salors who launched the missle say they thought the jet was a bomb). Does that make the United States a terrorist country?

He is not a dictator. Khadaffi is not a dictator and Libya is not a dictatorship. I suggest you read The Green Book it is available online in many languages.

Do not believe the media. There are biased and they are not in business to tell the whole truth. They only exist to keep your attention so that you will stay tuned during commercials.

Gotta be kidding. Gotta be.

 

[quixotecoyote]

Gotta be kidding. Gotta be.

It's wacky the way the conservatives are splitting and twisting over the Mideast uprisings. The Beck fringers are going with the uprisings as a vast liberal-muslim-socialist conspiracy, and if it wasn't for that vibe I'm getting from Bill, I'd probably think he was trying to satirize the anti-war crowd, but the right fringe actually is going pro-dictator at the moment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/12199_glennbecksegyptfreakouthowtheuprisingsplitsusconservatives

eta: As always"fringe" is a holdout vestige of optimism given American politics.

 

[leftysergeant]

Labels. Because we label someone something we should hate him? You don't make any sense. We should want him killed because how we label him?

What we want hardly matters any more. The Libyans want him dead.

Many countries kill people who oppose the laws of the country. The United States is one of them.

A friend of mine was in Libya as coach of a soccer team that was attending an internationall event in the 1980s. A crowd ggathered at the airport to protest the fact that there were Americans and people from other more or less hostile nations involved.

Gadafi had the police machine-gun them.

That's tyranical enough for me.

Wait a second.... does this have anything to do with the fact that we have a Democrat for president? It is OK for a president to topple the leader of another nation, just as long as the president who does it is not a Republican?

Obama is not toppling him. Libya is. Obama is stsaying out of it. The Shrub would pobably be all boots on the ground (by proxy, of course.)

Well, after Khadaffi is gone, I know there won't be any Republicans stupid enough to protest that there were no WMD's in Libya like the Democrats did after Iraq was invaded.

Only true statement in the entire post, though I would hardly call any Republicon reaction now intelligently concieved.

By the way, we did NOT invade Iraq because of beliefs in WMD's. We would have to invade a heck of a lot of nations if that is why we invade countries.

Had the shrub not told us that the weapons were there, he might have gotten all the Republicons on board, but that's about it.

 

[KingMerv00]

It is not an accurate label at all. We seem to be suffering from selective memory. It was the United States that shot down fighter jets from Libya. It was the United States that shot down (first) a passenger jet from Libya (albiet the salors who launched the missle say they thought the jet was a bomb). Does that make the United States a terrorist country? And let's not forget the United States bombed the hell out of his house -- is the USA in the business of asassination of the head of a nation? And those bombs killed his own daughter. Would the USA be so kind of a nation that bombed the White House and killed Obama or Bush's daughters? Would a US leader decide to later make peace as Ghadaffi had decided to make peace with the West? This does not sound like a dictator to me.

Tu quoque. Even if everything you say about America is true, that would not mean the label was inaccurate.

 

[Thunder]

He is not a dictator. Khadaffi is not a dictator and Libya is not a dictatorship.

Do not believe the media. There are biased and they are not in business to tell the whole truth. They only exist to keep your attention so that you will stay tuned during commercials.

oh my.

speechless, I am. confused, I have become.

 

[KingMerv00]

Do not believe the media. There are biased and they are not in business to tell the whole truth. They only exist to keep your attention so that you will stay tuned during commercials.

That's ironic. Libya's media was declared the least free in the middle east and north Africa. Yes, worse than Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Edit: Oh, and it was tied for 4th as having the least free press in the ENTIRE WORLD. (Kim Jong Il is still on top...barely.)

 

[dudalb]

Don't forget, Bill Thompson was the guy who thought that snow in a Walmart commerical involving US troops was Fallout.......

 

[KingMerv00]

Don't forget, Bill Thompson was the guy who thought that snow in a Walmart commerical involving US troops was Fallout.......

Thank you for the bumpage. Bill, any response to Libya's wonderful freedom of press?

 

[Darth Rotor]

Thank you for the bumpage. Bill, any response to Libya's wonderful freedom of press?

Also, to include whatever you can offer KingMerv00, Bill, I'd like you to explain how Fallout was published by Blizzard Entertainment.

 

[Rolfe]

It was the United States that shot down (first) a passenger jet from Libya (albiet the salors who launched the missle say they thought the jet was a bomb).

Evidence?^TM
Rolfe.

 

[Darth Rotor]

Evidence?^TM
Rolfe.

He refers, I think, to the Iranian air liner shot down by the USS Vincennes.

Reagan and Bush I both allowed free enough RoE for US jets to shoot down a few Libyan Migs and Sukois in the 80's. I had the privilege of being in the Sixth Fleet when a few Harpoon missiles hit a few Nanutchka II (or was it OSA II? ) patrol boats Muhamar had chosen to send forth to enforce his silly little line of death. I also got lit up a few times by fire control radar, but we were AFAIK out of range on each occasion.

Good fun, that, except for the poor SOBs on the Libyan patrol boats ... not such a good day for them.

 

[KingMerv00]

Also, to include whatever you can offer KingMerv00, Bill, I'd like you to explain how Fallout was published by Blizzard Entertainment.

It took me exactly 43 seconds to get the inside joke.

I lol'd and stuff.

 

[angrysoba]

Bill, I thought your "Hello, May I annoy the Hell out of you?" avatar was amusing but now I think it is your mission, which you've chosen to accept, here on JREF.