Libya – How Long Again?

A lot of Americans wonder how long the US military will be involved in trying to decide the outcome of the civil war in Libya. Sadly, it appears that the Obama Regime cannot or will not answer that question. Indeed, they are not even willing to speculate upon the potential range of dates involved – Days? Weeks? Months? Years?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday that nobody has “any idea” how long the United States military could be involved in Libya, though he stressed that Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi’s forces have been crippled by U.S.-led airstrikes.

Asked whether he expects the mission to be over by year’s end, Gates said, “I don’t think anybody knows the answer to that.”

Gates discussed the intervention over the course of several interviews Sunday alongside Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. While he declined to give any estimates for how long the United States could be involved, the two officials stressed that significant gains have been made and NATO is taking on a much bigger role.

That makes more than a little sense actually. One would have to have decided upon a set of victory conditions before one could even begin to predict how long it will take to achieve them or have it proved that they cannot be achieved. There’s no visible signs that either the Obama Regime or the UN Security Council has defined those victory conditions.

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4 Responses to “Libya – How Long Again?”

  1. Paradigm Says:

    Ah, War – the gift that keeps on giving. I can see how the opposition wins only to start fighting amongst themselves and the US having no clue who they should back. But hey, you can afford it, with the economy going so well and all ; )

  2. Moe Says:

    I heard them yesterday too. One point they made that I hadn’t thought about before – the importance of protecting Egypt and Tunesia from a wider war.

    Also, in Foreign Policy mag this morning – some news that didn’t suck.

    http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/731486

  3. jonolan Says:

    Paradigm,

    Ha. Ha. I’m sort of glad that someone can find some humor, if sarcastic humor, in this. I see it as train wreck waiting to find the worst place to happen.

    Moe,

    I’m not seeing it. I know the region and the military strengths in that area; neither Egypt or Tunisia were in any danger, especially not a danger that the Arab League couldn’t handle on its own.

    There’s also the fact that, evil, disgusting madman or not, Qaddafi had things almost “normalized” before we got involved. Our involvement actually prolonged the strife and increased what risks there were to the neighboring nations.

    As for the rebels advancing – that only doesn’t suck if they’re better than Qaddafi, which is unknown but rather doubtful.

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