quote:

ORIGINAL: tweakabelle

quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5

Unfortunately, one mad dog at a time, tweakabelle!

That sounds sensible to me. Let's deal with them one at a time.

But there's nothing to stop us reflecting on the whole problem and then approaching it systematically and consistently for once, is there?

quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5

Egypt isn't democratic yet.

I see nothing wrong with the US NOT storming in on our own. Without going into world cop mode, it made others take the opportunity to step up. Arab League approval, French planes bombing air defenses. My ONLY regret with a truly willing coalition is it took sooooo loooong to come together.

Let's see:

- No US troop involvement,
- No way for the Middle East to call this a Christian - Muslim crusade,
- True coaliton working TOGETHER to let the Libyans free themselves,
- Libyans will get to chart their own course (and guess what, the West might not like that course !)
- Operations costs not solely borne by the US.

What is wrong with this picture? Nothing.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tweakabelle

........ The lack of altruism seems fairly obvious to me because of the failure to intervene in Yemen or Bahrain where many similar circumstances apply. Hence the double standard. Surely that is evidence to support my position.

...............Elsewhere I have noted the many flaws in many Arab societies. I am blaming the West for the West's current policies towards the region (driven by "oil, arms sales and Israel") which I am asserting require radical re-shaping to reflect the needs and aspirations of the peoples of the region.

I hope this clarifies my position for you.

quote:

ORIGINAL: rulemylife

..................Yes, it's all wonderful.

All these happy comments being made here are going to go down the tubes once reality sets in.

I don't have a crystal ball but my prediction is we have just involved ourselves in yet another long, drawn-out war.

quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5

We picked up the Libyan gauntlet because Qadhaffi said "House to house and rivers of blood". He was and had been fulfilling that statement. He was marching in tanks and planes towards his fellow countrymen armed with rocks and sticks.

quote:

ORIGINAL: rulemylife

quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5

Egypt isn't democratic yet.

I see nothing wrong with the US NOT storming in on our own. Without going into world cop mode, it made others take the opportunity to step up. Arab League approval, French planes bombing air defenses. My ONLY regret with a truly willing coalition is it took sooooo loooong to come together.

Let's see:

- No US troop involvement,
- No way for the Middle East to call this a Christian - Muslim crusade,
- True coaliton working TOGETHER to let the Libyans free themselves,
- Libyans will get to chart their own course (and guess what, the West might not like that course !)
- Operations costs not solely borne by the US.

What is wrong with this picture? Nothing.

Yes, it's all wonderful.

All these happy comments being made here are going to go down the tubes once reality sets in.

I don't have a crystal ball but my prediction is we have just involved ourselves in yet another long, drawn-out war.

quote:

"So far this afternoon, the US has fired 112 Cruise missiles at a cost of roughly $569,000 each, not counting cost of shipping, handling, fuel and FedEx surcharges for overnight delivery. So, that's roughly $63.7 million spent so far this afternoon. It would have been cheaper to just hire Libya's air defense guys to shoot down their own planes.

To give some perspective on that number, the shortfall for the Dallas Texas school system next year is estimated at $64 million, which is predicted to lead to 3,000 teachers being laid off. So one afternoon's fireworks in Libya is about the same price as one year of keeping 3,000 teachers employed, along with their car mechanics, grocery clerks, and pizza delivery boys.

There is no money to pay for this. We can't afford it. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Progressives, Tea Party folks, Anarcho-Syndicalist Collectivists and "Other" are nearly universally agreed that the United States is deep in debt and going steadily deeper. To suggest that the $63.7 million we just blew up this afternoon is "already paid for" is a tad facetious, at best.

It genuinely astounds me that folks who would try to outlaw bacon if Obama ordered a BLT for lunch are perfectly OK with him plunging us into another expensive, pointless, open-ended war with no clear benefit to the United States, and without Congressional authorization to do so."

quote:

How is it we can afford war but can't even fix a bridge, or keep a teacher teaching, or give an annual checkup to an impoverished senior?

quote:

ORIGINAL: hlen5


This was triage. We can't AFFORD to and can not BE everywhere at once.

quote:

As before, I agree it would be great to be consistent in our support for human rights. You are assessing, correctly I think, past performance in our foreign policies. Maybe this is a new chapter for the US.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hippiekinkster

.............................I'm going to repost this because I think it really is something that needs to be thought about.

quote:

"So far this afternoon, the US has fired 112 Cruise missiles at a cost of roughly $569,000 each, not counting cost of shipping, handling, fuel and FedEx surcharges for overnight delivery. So, that's roughly $63.7 million spent so far this afternoon. It would have been cheaper to just hire Libya's air defense guys to shoot down their own planes.

To give some perspective on that number, the shortfall for the Dallas Texas school system next year is estimated at $64 million, which is predicted to lead to 3,000 teachers being laid off. So one afternoon's fireworks in Libya is about the same price as one year of keeping 3,000 teachers employed, along with their car mechanics, grocery clerks, and pizza delivery boys.

There is no money to pay for this. We can't afford it. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Progressives, Tea Party folks, Anarcho-Syndicalist Collectivists and "Other" are nearly universally agreed that the United States is deep in debt and going steadily deeper. To suggest that the $63.7 million we just blew up this afternoon is "already paid for" is a tad facetious, at best.

It genuinely astounds me that folks who would try to outlaw bacon if Obama ordered a BLT for lunch are perfectly OK with him plunging us into another expensive, pointless, open-ended war with no clear benefit to the United States, and without Congressional authorization to do so."

How is it we can afford war but can't even fix a bridge, or keep a teacher teaching, or give an annual checkup to an impoverished senior?