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Cimarron29414 · 03-30-2011, 09:21 AM

I heard a commentator on...I think it was NPR...flat out declare that special forces were on the ground in Libya. However, I haven't seen any other reference to that. Has anyone else seen anything?

Yesterday, the Pentagon listed the first 11 days as costing $580M. So, I stand corrected on the $1B estimate I said the day before.

Ace,

I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I believe you want the administration to say what their limits are (so we feel better about the expense/longevity of this op) and then stick to those limits. Part of me would welcome a delivery of those terms. There have been so many changes over the course of the campaign, that I don't think it is possible. For example, if we said that our limit is defensive airstrikes to support a no-fly zone and then Quaddafi started shelling the rebels with Mustard Gas, I'm pretty sure the limits would change. Would our leaders then have "lied" to us? Politically, it is a no win situation to describe those limits, if there are so many astericks for when those limits would change. The other disadvantage of setting limits is that it can show your cards to your adversary - much like putting a "pull out" date on our other two wars. The enemy knows they need only sit and wait.

However, I do see your point that current history demonstrates that the US only gets into things like these for the long haul and rebels may feel any US presence implies that the Abrams Division will be coming up behind them in a day or two. The "false sense of hope" that one might feel from not being capable of truly reading the political climate within the US and translate that into what it really means in terms of support. So, I see where you are coming from, but I think this situation represents some unchartered territory in US diplomacy. There isn't a page in the playbook for this. We'll all look back and know exactly what we should have done. Hell, we'll all revising this history in a matter of weeks to suit our case.

03-30-2011, 09:21 AM	#173 (permalink)
Cimarron29414 Still Free Location: comfortably perched at the top of the bell curve!	I heard a commentator on...I think it was NPR...flat out declare that special forces were on the ground in Libya. However, I haven't seen any other reference to that. Has anyone else seen anything? Yesterday, the Pentagon listed the first 11 days as costing $580M. So, I stand corrected on the $1B estimate I said the day before. Ace, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I believe you want the administration to say what their limits are (so we feel better about the expense/longevity of this op) and then stick to those limits. Part of me would welcome a delivery of those terms. There have been so many changes over the course of the campaign, that I don't think it is possible. For example, if we said that our limit is defensive airstrikes to support a no-fly zone and then Quaddafi started shelling the rebels with Mustard Gas, I'm pretty sure the limits would change. Would our leaders then have "lied" to us? Politically, it is a no win situation to describe those limits, if there are so many astericks for when those limits would change. The other disadvantage of setting limits is that it can show your cards to your adversary - much like putting a "pull out" date on our other two wars. The enemy knows they need only sit and wait. However, I do see your point that current history demonstrates that the US only gets into things like these for the long haul and rebels may feel any US presence implies that the Abrams Division will be coming up behind them in a day or two. The "false sense of hope" that one might feel from not being capable of truly reading the political climate within the US and translate that into what it really means in terms of support. So, I see where you are coming from, but I think this situation represents some unchartered territory in US diplomacy. There isn't a page in the playbook for this. We'll all look back and know exactly what we should have done. Hell, we'll all revising this history in a matter of weeks to suit our case. __________________ Gives a man a halo, does mead. "Here lies The_Jazz: Killed by an ambitious, sparkly, pink butterfly." Last edited by Cimarron29414; 03-30-2011 at 09:27 AM..