Sharky&Sharky does not accept his humanitarian rationalization expressed as to why the Libya invasion was done by the US. Sharky&Sharky does not accept this denial of sovereign ethical responsibility and ownership: The denial being, The US did it with our NATO and UN partners. None of these organizations would have done anything without the US fire power. The US bears ethical responsibility; this bombing is in no way ameliorated; as chidren we used to say when confront by a parent "well everyone else was doing it".
This begs the questions what alternatives should have been considered in addition to 120 plus Tomahawk missiles which are still being fired.
The citizens of Libya are demonstrating against the dictator Colonel Gaddafi. However, Libya citizens unlike the people of Tunisia or Eygpt seem to have weapons. There appears to be a Transitional National Council posited as Libya's legitimate government backed by at least France; The TNC continues to wrestle with how to achieve its goals of pushing Gaddafi from power. The leaders appear to be men (of course women should stay in the most central part of the house) named Mahmoud Jibril and Ali al-Essawi. Who knew? What are their credentials and authenticity? Of course there are a few turncoat Generals (1) and (2) who are now advocates for the revolution:
(1)A Major General in the Libyan Army, Suleiman Mahmoud, has declared himself and his soldiers as being on the side of the people and against 'the tyrant' Muammar Gaddafi.Maj. Gen Mahmoud is the commander of the army in the port city of Tobruk and the highest ranking officer to have declared his opposition to Gaddafi.
(2)In an "urgent" on-screen caption, a state-controlled television station reported that Maj. Gen. Khalid Shahmah had joined the rebels in Zawiya. It did not further identify the general or clarify his role in the military.We the US citizens who funded this invasion were not asked, informed, or consulted. We are dead broke and Barry fires of 122 Tomahawk missiles that cost $2M a piece (do not fall for the $600,000 price tag, that does not include a warhead) plus naval transport and payload to back a dubious nation composed of Arab tribes.
The Libya's tribal breakout are manifold. There are 140 tribes.
There is the Gaddafi tribe. Great, he has his own tribe. The two largest tribes
are the Beni Salim tribe that settled in Cyrenaica, the eastern coastal region of Libya, and the Beni Hilal that settled in western Libya around Tripoli. Some people have no tribes like 15% of the population, the Berbers. The Magariha tribe is in the best position to carry out a coup since they are in the sensitive position in the government. The Zawiya tribe can stop the flow of oil to western countries.Gaddafi maintained anti-tribal posture during his long reign. His government was composed of people from various tribes. After the coup d'etat in 1969 Gaddafi removed tribes from political power. There does seem to be that the larger tribes are planning a march of reconciliation from Tripoli to Benghazi:
Mar. 25 (Prensa Latina) Members of Libya´s largest tribes on Friday joined the so-called “Green March” from the capital to Benghazi, organized by citizens interested in promoting reconciliation between the government and rebels.Civilians carrying green Libyan flags and olive branches and chanting slogans for unity of the Libyan people above political differences were seen in the march to what is now the capital of the opposition.The Warfalla tribe will not be coming; they are sending regrets. They see march of Reconciliation an act of loyalty to Gaddafi. How many Libyans are upset with Gaddafi? Could this be a small number of radical folks and an army that just got out of control? What was the measure that required western world violent response? Was it the possibility of mass killings by Gaddafi? Will there be mass killings after Gaddafi is "stopped"? Of course no one knows the answer. We cannot say what the future will be or what it might have been if we had not intervened.
Barry does not know if this a revolution, or is this an insurgency or a civil war or a riot that has went bad. Although he says otherwise.What are the ideals and ideology of these rebels or revolutionaries? What gives them the right to cry to the US for help when Gaddafi starts kicking their asses all over the school yard? Who gave them the weapons to fight their government? Forget asking what is the plan for this conflict? The rebels plan is simple: get a weapon, ( from where?) jump in a truck, and shoot at Gaddafi's Libyan Army and when we get in trouble cry out to the Great Satan to come save our ass. Forget that MLK and Ghandi stuff of demonstrations lets "kick some Gaddafi butt". Then beg for the Great Satan to come and bail us out when we lose.
Thanks to the NYT: Here is a few of the Libyan rebels; Where did they get those guns?
Where do they get all these toys?
Well it appears that it will not be hard to tell the Gaddafi loyalists from the Rebels; there is something about the loyalist skin color. Sharky&Sharky wonder if we will see any of these black fellows again before they get their virginal reward.
Now you boys ain't hiding no watermelon down in there? |
General Wesley Clark nets it pretty well:
In a best-case scenario[in Libya], there would be a constitutional convention, voter lists, political parties and internationally supervised free and fair elections. But there could also be a violent scramble for authority in which the most organized, secretive and vicious elements take over. We are not well-equipped to handle that kind of struggle. And once we intervene, Libya's problems would become our responsibility.What should we have done. First we should have NOT bombed Libya. Neither ideals nor values nor imagined outcomes justify either means or the results (ends) of this action. The ethical chain is not the ethics of good intentions but the ethics of responsibility leading to ownership of the most human enabling outcome. Bombing is not humanitarian. Second everyone must realize that the cost of revolutions are high. If you start one then you must pay for it. You pay for revolutions with your lives; in this case Libyan lives. The American people should not be suckered into paying for it. Barry wants to sidetrack the issue by saying there will be no American ground troops. Or Libyans will be slaughtered. However what about the quarter billion spent on Tomahawks? Who will pay for those? The Libyan Rebels should pay for them; they have command of the oil outlets now. They ordered the Tomahawks; freedom is not free. At the heart of the problem is necessity for practising and using JUDGMENT
Finally the high crime in all of this is American involment. We are creating chaos. We are not helping. What will we do when Libyan tribes begin to war among themselves when Gaddafi is gone? Those countries who want to be fledging democracies have to work at democracy development themselves. Running about with pickup trucks and automatic rifles is not a revolution or hoping for generals that change sides is suicide. These startup democracies need to nuture their own John Adamses and Thomas Jeffersons and George Washington and George Mason's etc. Individuals that desire to sacrifice their futures, fortunes, and collective national faiths to achieve their national unified democratic sovereignty. Failing the startups will remain enslaved to dictators and tribal warfare. And of course the US will support that next dictator. America needs to take a position on how we are going to develop democracies. Looking for allies at the last minute to support us when these fledglings are about to crash and burn only introduces more chaos in the world. The first step that America should take is to denounce all of our allies and sovereign business partners that are dictators. Encourage our NATO allies to do the same. President Carter tried this in the seventies and he was laughed out of town. It appears that he was right. By supporting dictatorships, we are introducing chaos and Fitna and supporting dictator's evil. America needs to be the bright, shinning city on a hill in our actions and in our spirit. Next we need to inform all dictators that we will support their nation's movements to democracy. America will speak out for democracy and liberty at every turn. No matter how uncomfortable this is or politically incorrect, it trumps 120 Tomahawk missiles and shirking the ethics of responsibility.
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