Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Sound Military Options

The leader de facto of Libya, Muammar al-Gadda...Image via Wikipedia
Times Of India: US flexes muscle, sends warships to Libya: The United States began moving warships toward Libya and froze $30 billion in the country's assets as the administration declared all options on the table in its diplomatic, economic and military campaign to drive colonel Muammar Gaddafi from power. ...... conferring with allies about imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. Such a move would likely be carried out only under a mandate from the UN or Nato, but Hillary's blunt confirmation that it was under consideration was clearly intended to ratchet up the pressure on Gaddafi and his dwindling band of loyalists...... USS Kearsarge had left the Red Sea to transit through Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, close to Libya. USS Kearsarge has armed helicopters and harrier jets on board as well as around 700 Marines ..... USS Enterprise had also been kept on 'high standby alert' in the Red Sea ...... A no-fly zone would require removing "the air defense capability first" ..... Anti-regime leaders said they have formed a military council in Benghazi, which has become the hub of efforts to topple Gaddafi. The council, comprising officers who joined protesters, will liaise with similar groups in other freed cities but it was not clear if there were plans for a regional command.
For America to send ground troops into Libyan territory would be a huge mistake. For one, America can't afford it. Two, I doubt the UN would authorize such a move. Three, that would send a very bad signal. It is for people power to oust dictators, that is not the job of the US military.

I have never advocated that the US send ground troops into Libya.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Nicaragua, Ortega On The Radar

Daniel Ortega, a Nicaraguan politician.Image via WikipediaKick Ortega Out
Time: Mideast Unrest Spreads to Nicaragua — Virtually: Under the banner "We Will Not Remain Quiet: No More Reelection," some 16,000 Nicaraguan youth activists joined forces Friday to protest the reelection bid by President Daniel Ortega. ...... "Down with Mubarak, Gaddafi, and Ortega!" ...... Ortega, who admitted to receiving personal financing from the Libyan leader before returning to office in 2007, has publicly offered Nicaragua's "total solidarity" to his longtime ally Muammar Gaddafi ..... Last year, Ortega was awarded the Muammar al-Gaddafi International Award for Human Rights. ..... Facebook demonstration ..... a society where social networking websites are becoming increasingly widespread and influential. ...... the virtual march was one of total rejection and repudiation of the candidacy of Daniel Ortega, which is illegal and illegitimate. ....... the only place young people feel they can demonstrate safely against Ortega is in cyberspace..... "Every time a protest march is organized, the Sandinistas call for a countermarch that ends in violence." ...... Baez started the initiative with invitations to 500 of his Facebook friends. It quickly went viral, growing to more than 100,000 invites ....... Nicaragua now has 3G technology in corners of the country that don't even have roads, electricity or running water
TRIPOLI. With leader of the Libyan Revolution ...Image via Wikipedia
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