What will Obama do if the UN votes for the no-fly zone? I'm pretty sure the UN's vote would mean they want the USA to enforce the no-fly zone. Will Obama send our boys/girls there? He's already failed in many of his promises. Gitmo's still open, our troops are still fighting in the Middle East, etc. Sending our planes to defend rebels in another country would go against the grain of the promises he's already failed to keep.

Obama a----Gitmo? Every congressperson screamed, "not in my district". In addition, President Obama stated clearly when campaigning that he would step it up in Afghanistan and wind down in Iraq--done both of those. Let GB and France take care of something on their own for a change--we're broke and our military is overextended. Clinton announced today that the US wouldn't participate in a "no fly zone".

You're right, and now the Senate demands a Declaration of War to start aggressively in "Libya". Obama has to declare a Declaration of Foreign Military Aid which will satisfy the German requirement for what half of you Americans demand. That you are not sucked into a foreign war. ... but what if ally airplanes are attacked? Will the Senate declare a Declartion of War themselves?

For a more complete list of his broken promises:

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/4701/long-post-complete-list-obama-statement-expiration-dates

France is good at surrendering. GB would kick butt. Clinton and Obama have been on different pages in the past so just because Clinton says it, doesn't mean it won't happen. I'm still anxious to hear Obama's answer to the question that may be asked of him in the near future. BTW, it's probably too late as far as the rebels are concerned.

Like Gitmo, his promises were made to get elected... that's it.

With gasoline approaching $4/gallon, I have no doubt that Obama will lose if he gets out of the Democrat primary... and that's a big if.

Does the US have ANY leadership capacity anymore? Lebanon, Brittan, and France are leading the charge for a no-fly zone to save human lives..... LEBANON!?!? Why they have a seat on the Security Council I have no idea, but even they want to protect Innocent Muslim lives (mind you that Iran may be calling the shots for them so it may be a sect issue). Here's how the US's policy was described:

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who on Monday met with her counterparts and Sarkozy, traveled to Egypt for talks Tuesday and did not attend the G-8 meeting. U.S. diplomats said the Obama administration is prepared to engage on the text of the resolution." AKA- We're staying out of it, but we'll read the resolution you all put together. Don't call us, we'll call you.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the same leadership we used to have in this country Reagan, Bush, nor Clinton would have just sat by and watched after saying that the people should "rise up". They would have followed through on their comments. They would have had a comment within a week, not 3-4 weeks as is currently the case. Yeah we're broke, but do we need to be morally broke as well?

Even Bill Clinton is taking on the President now. He stated that Obama's foreign policy was a joke.

Obama might be a young man, but don't let that fool you... he's a big devil inside. :/ He's still a young man though, so we have to help him out.

JoeNY you need to learn how the Security Council works, 5 countries are permanent members, 10 are elected, it seems Lebanon was elected, don't you believe in democratic elections Joe?

Does the US have ANY leadership capacity anymore? Lebanon, Brittan, and France are leading the charge for a no-fly zone to save human lives..... LEBANON!?!?

Yes, because Britain has BP oil, France has Elf Aquitaine oil and Lebanon represents the Arab league that has the oil that BP and Elf want. It has nothing to do with leadership.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the same leadership we used to have...

yes, it is you...

Even Bill Clinton is taking on the President now. He stated that Obama's foreign policy was a joke.

Well, duh! It's been a joke since Obama started bowing to everyone like he had the lead role in an off-Broadway hit musical!

Has anyone told these clowns that Khadafi is already mopping up??

What a joke......

JoeNY "Does the US have ANY leadership capacity anymore?"

From a 'Community Organizer'? Give us a break. He's busy doing what he does best - ignore a problem and hope it goes away.

Of course, we do have to remember that this is the time for the basketball playoffs, so it's also a matter of 'priorities'.

whitehousedossier.com/2011/03/15/president-obamas-trivial-pursuits-2/

Sandtrich:

Clinton announced today that the US wouldn't participate in a "no fly zone".

Guess not, huh? Where'd you get that lemon of a soundbite, anyway? I never saw it in the news. What I did see? Operation Odyssey Dawn is a go.

JoeNY:

LEBANON!?!? Why they have a seat on the Security Council I have no idea

Their are permanent members (US, UK, Russia, China and France) and then there are rotating members who are voted in periodically. This just happens to be Lebanon's turn-- and why not? Most of the security concerns of the world are occurring in the ME, might as well have ME countries at hand when determining military involvement in that part of the world.

I had a voice, a vision inside of me.. that said "USS American.." ... it's good to hear that later that day our tax supported government already had USS vessels stationed by Lybia.

I don't think anyone who admits to "having visions" and "hearing voices in his head", and who cannot even spell the name of the country he proposes we attack, should be allowed to comment on US policy in Libya.

Eeew... did your mom give you that name?

If a genocide happens in Libya like happened in Rwanda, it will be a legacy of the Bush administration. While Bush is no longer the President, he left the US in a position where we are spread so thin that we are unable to take action even if we wanted to.

Unfortunately I fear it is too late for the Libyan rebels. The Arab League took too long to request the no fly zone and by the time the UN finally acts the rebels will most likely be destroyed. Additionally, last I heard, the rebels were running out of arms, so we are going to have to re-arm the rebels, else the no fly zone will be completely pointless.

Greg, I thought the point of the no fly zone was to protect civilians not support the rebels.

@Greg - I'm sure in your NY liberal mindset everything for the next 50 years can be blamed on Bush to excuse the ineptitude of the current president, when there is no relevance at all....your as dense as the bible thumper's are but worse because you don't realize you are.

If Gadhafi is left to his own measures and retakes the east then get ready to revisit Rwanda, Cambodia, and Kosovo all over again with the entire population being subjugated and murdered to cement his families power....Of course it seems that America (as the rest of the West) always seems to be better at picking up the pieces of genocide then confronting it head on as you would think societies based on human rights would do.

They are one in the same. The no fly zone is to protect the rebels. Even without planes, Gaddafi's military most likely will kill all of the rebels since they are running out of ammunition.

Greg in New York "If a genocide happens in Libya like happened in Rwanda, it will be a legacy of the Bush administration."

We knew it was only a matter of time before the "Blame Bush" crowd would find a way. It's not a lack of resources to impose a 'No-Fly zone', it's a lack of will.

Here's a revelation - Wake up, Bush has been gone for 26 months. And by the way, Rwanda happened under Bill Clinton, but I'm sure you can find a way to "Blame Bush" for that too.

Stick your head back in the sand and keep denying it. You just don't want to admit that going into both Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time has left us spread dangerously thin. I guess you haven't been reading the articles where people from the State department are saying the same thing. Could we help with a no fly zone? I'm sure we could, but we wouldn't be able to spearhead it. Additionally, if it becomes a protracted war that last months and years then you would see how thin we are spread. If it was to last only a few weeks that would be a different story. Our fear is that it will be months and year. That is why we are hesitant to get involved.

Well, Greg-- we're involved now, and guess what? The tip of the spear was France... followed by the shaft of 118 US/UK tomahawk missiles. But anyway, Roy is right-- the resources are there. America's military might is not stretched nearly as thin as you might think. Iraq is winding down considerably-- we have fewer military personnel there now than at any time since the war started. Afghanistan is ramping up, but we still have thousands of undeployed personnel. bear in mind that we spend more $$ on defense than the rest of the world combined. We have the military resources, and now, finally, we have the will-- though I understand the concerns that we may only be handing Libya to Al-Qaida on a silver platter.

My comments were prior to the UN Security resolution and a coalition of numerous countries coming together in less then a weeks time. Historically that is unprecedented. It would normally take months for something like that to happen. Possibly the Obama administration was working on this all along behind the scenes, but as an average citizen I would have no way of knowing that. My premise was based on a unilateral action by the US. If the US had to go it alone or with only France and the UK, the story today would be a lot different. I was also assuming a ground presence which does not exist. I think very few people could have foreseen what has happened over the last 5 days. As long as there isn't a ground presence of American soldiers in Libya, this is a sustainable action.

I simply believe some countries are just saying.. hey, we have the manpower... we were born with it infront of our eyes thanks to a God up there. We did what was possible.. we're sorry that you were all murdered.. your children.. your wives.. grandpas and grandmas... and there will be a lot of people saying a lot of things... but we did what we could and there is evidence of that.... but some countries threatened to shoot us if we tried to save you. Countries that are known to be negative to begin with. We are very sorry.

WTF? Are you taking the right medicines, Amadoc?

I must of have taken a big wiff off of you!

You make some outstanding poibts. The enforcement of the "no-fly zone" is, in and of itself an overt and aggressive axt of war. My question is: where does it stop? Which insurgency are we going to "support" next? the Bahrani Shiite? The Saudis? Jordan? Syeia? where?

I think we are about to throw gas on a raging fire.

The proposed resolution already contains language amounting to code words for more active and forceful intervention in the phrase "to take the necessary steps to protect civilians." That is the license for future expansion of the effort.

The demand that the Libyan people will have "freedom of expression" sounds like the oled message of "give me your heart and mind or I am going to kill you." Every combat veteran knows what I am talking about and it is not funny at all.

"Freedom of expression." Think about it. Even we do not have it. The FCC is a paid professional government agency just waiting to drop the hammer on whoever expresses themselves in a way not approved of. We have "freedom of expression" to a point and that is all. It is, in fact, regulated. Additionally, "freedom of expression" does not grant a license to shut down a government or impede the rights of others. There are limits which must still be observed having to do with safety and security of other citizens..

As I see it, we are about to spend tax dollars supporting an armed insurgency and that I completely disagree with. I think it will be like trying to empty the ocean with a two gallon pail. It ian't going to work.

Right. We have neither the right, nor the responsibility of being the policemen of the world. This is an Arab issue. Let them handle their own affairs for a change. They have both US and Russian arms, training, and besides, they despise infidels like us. Do you really think these extremist muslim rebels want to set up a democracy? Do you think they would appreciate any blood spilled by young Americans? Let the Arab League provide humanitarian aid as well. I don't want a single penny of our tax dollars spent on Libya. We need to help our own people for a change.

Hang in there oldefarte against AmadoC. This person is pulling your chain and I'm with YOU !

Let France do it--they have a 0 budget for national defense, kicked NATO and the US out in '67. Yet, they are the first that yells for Americans soldiers to die and come to the aid of EVERYONE! I think the last time French soldiers fought a war was maybe a hundred years ago in WWI, or was it when Napolean invaded Russia in the 19th century.

drushalli .... actually, the French have a sizable national defense budget and, until Iraq / Afghanistan, their troops were probably more active than ours.

Military spending comparison

http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending#WorldMilitarySpending

I was supposing those 22 something Arabian countries would favor their allies in oil-export for helping them out.... they must be spewing with oil to begin with that a few drops will land in those other not-so-ally countries either way.

I have been told we have the tech to support a specific type of no-fly of Daffy's jet fighters and attack helicopters without all the WW2 mindset that seems to being pushed at this time. Remember 'shock and awe' even the palace guards bailed. The troops lacked the will to fight and were crapping their pants in total fear. I understand we have some scary stuff designed just for these type of actions. Daffy cannot buy the troops spirit to fight for his pleasure ...which opens the door for intelligent operational procedure. Just need to help thats all, we don't need an Iraq.

Amando: Give me a break. Since day one the Arab League has been pressing to get everyone, except themselves, to come up w/ the money and planes to create a no-fly zone. Those 22 members have American and Russian fighters which vastly out number anything that Gadhfi has. They could do the no-fly zone themselves but don't want to risk THEIR planes or spend THEIR money. Their, "it has to be done, but let someone else do it attitude" is reflected in the article -- reporting on the UN Conference:

"One diplomate said the Security Council will be looking to see whether members of the Arab League which is pressing for the no-fly zone are ready to seriously participate in the establishment and operation of the zone" (Emphasis added).

So, I'm not the only one who thinks the Arab league may back off their pleas if they are required to put THEIR planes and THEIR money into the no-fly zone. And, by the way, they are far from broke - we are!

Driftrat .. You are absolutely correct !

It's 72 virgins, and about a decade.

They will soon be running out of Muslim Virgins

The virgins are billy goats.

They won't be ready for squat. The un has no teeth . Organization O' wusses . The US should just dump their asses . No doubt the un will eventually strongly condemn quaddaffys actions for the 35th time ...like daffy gives a crap what they say .

trust me im right there with you. This, and any U.N resolution won't mean squat until they grow some balls.

The UN provides "cover" for a lot of what we do. Most of the countries in the world would not tolerate some of our actions except it is an "allied" effort under the auspices of the UN. Otherwise, smaller organizations like the Arab League or G8 would just be bulldogged or gorilla'd into something they did not really want to do.

France should just send quadaffy a white flag and surrender in advance .

Well yeah , they just got to have somebody to hate , to take the pressure off hating each other .

Let's see if I get this right. The vast majority of "the Libyan people" are law abiding citizens who stay at home and go to work trying to support their families and have nothing whatsoever to do with the insurgents. You, however, in your state of mind, want the United States to bomb and strafe government forces in support of the insurgents. Since the insurgents now occupy inhabited areas, innocent people are going to die because you want to protect insurgents in the "name of freedom." The insurgents have hidden behind the civilian population for a reason. They will have to be dug out street by street and house by house. If you can convince them to come out into the desert and fight it out...I would agree with a "no fly zone." I do not think you can do that.

No, I do not believe you have this right. If you lived for 41 years under an incoherent rambling madman, I think you would understand why people would rebel.

Douglas;

I agree with you the longer we wait to instill this no fly zone and send the Freedom fighters the arms they need Gadhafi will have crushed the revolution and he will have won with the ability to make all the revolutionaries disappear. And that will be tragic for them and the rest of the world.

Oh really? Like Afganistan and Iraq are over and done with? You're right that Bush would go in there. But only to enrich the Military Industrial Complex and develop oil contracts so that he and his buddies can get even more rich on the blood of young Americans and tax dollars from the backbone of the middle class.

Stevo, you got that right. Robert, you must have been on another planet during the 8 years GW was in office.... and the moment you got back, you were silly enough to actually take FOX News seriously.

George H. Bush let Saddam Hussein go in 1991 so we could do it all over again! You would think this honorable veteran of WW2 would have remembered one of the principle edits of war.

Considering the money and, more importantly, American lives lost in Iraq since Bush the younger invaded, the decision by Bush the elder to contain Hussein looks wiser and wiser.

WTF makes you think the rebels want a democracy???

Stevo:

Anything is better than a madman who thinks ALL his people love and revere him.