I support Obama and the military strikes against Libya

[thewiseguy]

This may not be a popular opinion here but perhaps some people just woke up today and did not realize Ghaddafi was bombing and massacring the people of his country using the military. As much as you think this has to be up to the people of Libya, sometimes you can not fight for for your freedom when your leader is a mad man who is willing to do just about anything to hold on to power.

I wish we would send a couple of those missiles at his palace. Maybe a little bit of justice for the many civilians he has murdered including Americans.

[Aryo]

1. +1

This is great news

[GSLevel9]

2. justice at the point of a cruise missile?

Oh yeah, fabulous.

:rolleyes:

[tabasco]

6. What kind of justice you think Muammar was handing out?

Singing kumbabya doesn't give justice, either.

[ReggieVeggie]

13. so you supported the attack on Iraq then

since this same argument was used as justification

[tabasco]

19. Same argument, different facts.

Try again.

[Posteritatis]

32. He had the option of not shelling cities and went ahead after the resolution anyway

Not really buying the talk around here that the guy who promised no quarter to entire cities' populations is the wronged party.

[tabatha]

3. Unfortunately, he has kidnapped citizens

and taken them to his palace to act as a human shield.

Also, all the Libyan ministers have been restricted to his compound and cannot go out.

[ReggieVeggie]

4. you haven't been reading the threads?

there are plenty of people who share your opinion

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[leftstreet]

7. unRec n/t

[kenny blankenship]

9. France should have stayed OUT of our Revolution! Their motives weren't pure.

Just sayin'.

[NoTimeToulouse]

59. I mentioned that a few days ago to the sound of crickets.

[cedric]

76. The Queen

will be happy to have you all back as citizens.

[isuphighyeah]

88. How quickly we forget. n/t

[BOHICA12]

95. Citizens ..... I think we get to return as subjects!

.... so here's to the French getting in in 1777 and the British staying out in 1862.

[NightWatcher]

10. Holy shit, y'all sound like repukes when Bush was war mongering?

Gonna run out to WalMart and get a magnet for your minivan too?

*cue Lee Greenwood*...and I'm proud to be an American

[in_cog_ni_to]

38. I hear ya. This is scary shit in here.

:scared:

[Luminous Animal]

42. Yep.

[RB TexLa]

78. We are acting with others on behalf of the United Nations. It's not all about 'Merica

[LWolf]

94. +1

[JI7]

11. i don't know whether it's the best thing to do but i know it's not for the oil

or whatever else the conspiracy theorists always say.

these are difficult issues. whether doing this would make things worse is always something to consider which is why we didn't do it earlier.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jezebel]

17. Jesus fucking Christ. Now posters are determining whether or not "you belong here" Unfuckingreal. nt

[DevonRex]

24. Unreal, isn't it? Somebody turn on the lights so they'll scatter. nt

[hlthe2b]

36. "Alert" is your recourse..."

New or not, he doesn't get to attack other DUers like that.

[DevonRex]

40. It's not working.

[jaxx]

20. Repeating fibs isn't productive.

[Posteritatis]

39. Apparently feels nice, though. (nt)

[DevonRex]

21. Hahahaha. Well, I don't think YOU are a progressive.

So there.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[countingbluecars]

23. Just joined today and telling people

they don't belong here. You sir are a jerk.

[thewiseguy]

26. Ghaddafi is actively bombing and shelling his own people

I am not sure if you can grasp that very fact. There is a mad man who is actually killing people indiscriminately. This is not a case of a good leader vs bad leader thing. The international community is involved in the strikes.

Maybe we should have let another Rwanda happen right in front of our eyes and cry about its aftermath.

[Faygo Kid]

33. You joined DU today and you're deciding who belongs here?

We are free to disagree here, but those who set themselves up as the "deciders" don't fare very well with others.

The OP has been here since 2008 and is entitled to make his case. Cut that bullshit out.

[jefferson_dem]

34. You join DU today...

And already lecturing others on ideological purity and proclaiming that some don't "belong here"? Trollish much?

[Throd]

14. I also support military assistance to the Anti-Ghaddafi forces.

[LAGC]

22. THIS is what we should be doing.

Instead of aerial bombings with all the associated collateral damage, we should just arm the fuck out of the rebels and let THEM fight their own damn revolution!

[Modern_Matthew]

15. Spreading democracy via turning cities to rubble. It worked out well in the past. nt

[gateley]

16. I do, too, but I also understand why some people are against it.

This is something we'll never agree on so we just need to respect each other's viewpoints on this. :shrug:

And, just have to add, I hope we're right on this one. We'll just have to watch and see how it goes. I can't even wrap my brain around what will happen if this isn't successful. :(

[cedric]

77. I agree

whilst we may not all agree on this issue we should respect the rights of those who possess different views.

Not that that view would exist if Gadaffi get's his way.

[Adsos Letter]

18. According to AJE's Birntly, in Benghazi, the city endured 14 hours of shelling/bombing yesterday

[ecstatic]

25. I support Obama, but I want us to stay home

End all 3 engagements ASAP. Let other countries deal with this.

[Zynx]

27. I've always wondered what the "It's none of our business" folks do about domestic abuse next door

when they know about it.

I will point out that this was an action endorsed by the United Nations while the Iraq action was not.

[leftstreet]

30. I beat up my neighbor's wife to prevent him from doing it n/t

[ReggieVeggie]

31. so, you supported the Iraq invasion

since your reasoning was used to justify that

[ecstatic]

35. Help with what money? I thought we were in debt

Let the countries who aren't in debt help.

[jefferson_dem]

28. +1.

The international community knows this murderous thug deserves what's coming his way. Shame so many in the DU community are more interested in unrealistic ideological dogmatism than in doing what's right.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

29. Want to throw in a chorus of "God Bless America" and a cheer for the MIC?

[pipoman]

37. My problem is

failure to spread our help/justice to other equally horrible, in fact much more horrible, situations in other nations with no oil or other resources important to the US.

[thewiseguy]

45. I do agree with that sentiment

I think the media has a lot to do with it. The media shapes the public opinion and forces politicians to do something about it.

More people know about Libya and Ghaddafi than say Ivory Coast or Sierra Leone. Not that those other countries are not important but the leaders of North Korea, Iran, and Libya are more of household names.

[daleo]

54. The media doesn't exist in a vacuum

They report what media executives allow them to.

[Uzybone]

41. I support Obama, I dont support this action at this time

We should be able to sit one out for once.

[Taitertots]

43. Lets murder some civilians, I'm sure THAT will make it better

Because when they murder civilians it is "massacring" but when the largest military in earth's history does it to third world nations, then we are helping them.

[thewiseguy]

46. I am sure the civilian casualties will not be anywhere close to what Ghaddafi has done

He was shelling and bombing Benghazi, Libya's second biggest city for 14 straight hours yesterday. When UN passed the resolution on Libya people were out on the streets celebrating.

[LAGC]

49. Uh, last time I checked...

There were pro-Gadhafi civilians massing at many potential target locations, acting as "human shields."

I think you may be underestimating the potential for collateral damage here...

[TheKentuckian]

66. Being "human shields" means they put the bullseye on themselves and they are no longer acting

as innocent bystanders.

[Taitertots]

56. Because our bombs only hit the bad people

:sarcasm:

[jillan]

44. As long as it's a quickie. But I agree, something needed to be done.

[Scurrilous]

47. K & R

:thumbsup:

[kudzu22]

48. So just being a thug dictator who kills civilians is enough

to justify war? If so, then we owe the shrub an apology. Sorry, I don't buy it. This war has even less justification than we had for invading Iraq. Let's pray it doesn't escalate to ground troops.

[bvar22]

68. In 24 hours, it has already escalated from a No Fly Zone....

...to Ground Bombardment.
That is championship Mission Creep.

[kudzu22]

84. Good point

I didn't know tanks could fly.

[On the Road]

97. Well, Actually, That Was Part of the Resolution

It included air-to-surface strikes against military targets. As it should IMO.

[sad sally]

98. I smell work for Halliburton and Blackwater on the horizon - get out those contracts now.

[shireen]

50. i've reached overload

there's too much going on. my brain can't process this. first Japan. now Libya. before that Wisconsin. before that Egypt. I'm tired. i'm turning off the news, not reading DU this weekend. this is a great place for the latest developments, but i've reached my limit of what my brain can process.
:cry:

y'all have a good weekend. see you Monday. Hopefully, the world will be a better place by then.

:grouphug:

[PurityOfEssence]

51. Bahrain's been protesting longer and doesn't have a military revolutionary provisional government

so why don't we attack THEM?

Those really ARE innocent civilians attempting to redress their government who are being attacked with lethal force. Why aren't we attacking THEM? By any moral logic, THEY'RE much more abused in the situation than the Libyan rebels.

Ah, we LIKE their government. That's it, isn't it?

[grahamhgreen]

52. Who gonna pay for it?

[cedric]

79. How about the banks

They got us in this financial problem in the first place with help from the politicians who set the system up for them.

Good that's that question sorted.

[daleo]

53. Our intervention will kill thousands of civilians, maybe more

Just like every other time.

[The Northerner]

62. It always seems that the US government's interventions kill numerous civilians

no matter how it's implemented.

This is just saddening.

[meow mix]

55. K&r +1000000

[DirkGently]

57. Maybe some of the other ME countries we send billions in military aid could handle this one?

[NorthCarolina]

58. Good for you, but for me it doesn't cut it. nt

[pecwae]

60. See, there's always

some kind of justification for military strikes if one looks hard enough.

[Ringo-san]

61. So you were cheering when we went into Iraq because of the treatment of the Kurds? nt

[slay]

63. I don't

i'm done with all this war for profit shit. done.

[bvar22]

64. As long as you're OK with whoever the "rebels" are.

In Afghanistan, they were The Taliban.
In Lebanon, they were Hamas.

Just thought you might be interested in whom you are Throwing In with.
I have never subscribed to the myth that The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend.
I like to know WHO we are fighting for.

We "Took Out" Saddam,
and look what happened.
Are you willing to give up our Social Security, Medicare, Public Schools, and Social Programs to "take out" Qaddafi?
What happens after THAT. :shrug:
Are WE responsible for what happens next?
(We are, BTW.)

[lonestarnot]

65. ney war mongers.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

67. It is absolutely the right thing to do. nt

[bvar22]

70. Do you have ANY idea WHO we are fighting for?

In Lebanon, it turned out to be Hamas.
In Afghanistan, it was The Taliban.

We took out "bad guy" Saddam, and look what happened.
Are YOU ready to take responsibility for that?

I have never subscribed to the myth that "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Hell YEAH! Take him OUT!" in not a good military strategy.

What happens next? :shrug:

[Cognitive_Resonance]

73. Revolution throughout the Arab world led by young people hungry for democracy. nt

[bvar22]

80. YEAH! that SOUNDS good.

but not so fast.
You have absolutely NO idea what will emerge from the smoking wreckage in Libya.
You have absolutely NO idea who the Rebel Forces are being organized under,
or what kind of government will emerge.


One thing we DO know:
"YeeHaw! Take him out!"
is NOT a good Foreign Policy.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

81. We do know the outcome if nothing is done. Qaddafi promised his people no mercy. Time for action nt

[bvar22]

82. Your World is so simple. I almost envy you.

Unfortunately, I learned a long time ago (Viet Nam) that the real World was NOT like an old Western Movie on TV,
with The Good Guys on one side, and the Bad Guys on the other side,
and we always support the Good Guys, and the Good Guys always win.
:patriot:
Must be nice.

You really should study our history of Military Interventions since WW2.
Its not pretty.
And the situation in Libya is not near so simple.
If we "Take Him OUT",
what comes next?

[Maru Kitteh]

69. I'm glad, in this instance, that we are not sitting on our hands while that freak wipes people away

like ants at a picnic.

[Critters2]

71. It's funny that you're here, playing on the internets,

when you should be putting your money where your mouth is at your nearest recruiting station.

[itsrobert]

72. +2

n/t

[HR_Pufnstuf]

74. Did Libya and four other Arab countries get involved in OUR Civil War?

No.

We were killing each other.

International effort = New World Order.

Same war criminal globalists at it again.

[isuphighyeah]

89. Our world was hardly "global"

in the 19th century.

[Change Happens]

75. I do too!

[Iterate]

83. If we don't, the Arab Spring is dead as well.

The US has done the wrong thing so often that it's no surprise people are more than suspicious, even knee-jerk cynical. I'm partly that way myself. It's hard to trust when the US, perhaps inadvertently, does the right thing. But without the UN intervention, it's more than likely the revolution would be defeated and Libyan aspirations dead for another generation.

That would suit the Saudis, BFEE, neocons, and other tyrants quite well. They could all carry on with the status quo. It would leave Tunisia and Egypt with hostile dictators on their flanks. It would embolden repression in Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, and elsewhere. Rather than sweeping across the globe as a wave for popular democracy, the Arab Spring would die in Libya.

At least now there's still a chance.

[LoZoccolo]

85. The recommendations are coming so fast that when I gave one it went up by two! n/t

[sendero]

86. I reluctantly do also..

.... as long as we are really part of a coalition and not the overwhelmingly main actor as in Iraq.

I was and still am against the Iraq war, there was no reason for it. I am against the Afghanistan war because we've been there forever and we have pretty much fuck-all to show for it.

But this is different. For reasons that should be obvious to everyone.

[Waiting For Everyman]

87. So do I. K&R

I'd agree on your missile wish too, except Quaddafi anticipated that and took some journalists to his compound as human shields today. What courage! He's such a brave guy when he's bombing civilians' homes, but he doesn't want the same thing happening to him. I hope he goes and quickly - voluntarily or otherwise.

:kick:

[isuphighyeah]

91. Same here. It's way overdue. n/t

[Initech]

90. You do realize those are American cruise missiles that were dropped, right?

Some billionaire fucking war contractor got a big fat fucking pay day for those at the expense of all the lives that were lost. :grr: :mad: :nuke:

[LWolf]

93. We make them, we sell them, and then we go to war with our customers. nt

[SpartanDem]

92. K&R

[TBF]

96. Of course you do. nt