Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
President Obama said yesterday the U.S. will be pulling back from its dominant role in Libya this week. Exactly who will take the reins isn't clear. France? Britain? Can they even do it? The option most talked about seems to be the NATO Military Alliance, which is also led by (surprise) the U.S.
Obama also reiterated that no U.S. ground forces will be deployed, even if air strikes aren't enough to dislodge Qaddafi from power.
House Speaker John Boehner sent a fiery letter to the President yesterday, asking the unanswered question, "What is your benchmark for success in Libya?" Boehner also asked why we agreed to a U.N. Security Council resolution that doesn't mention removing Qaddafi, despite Obama demanding he step down.
Given that, Boehner asks if it would be acceptable for Qadhafi to stay in power, how he’d be removed from power, and why the U.S. would “commit American resources to enforcing a U.N. resolution that is inconsistent with our stated policy goals and national interest.”
If Libya makes you want to throw back a Scotch early in the morning, try some Victor Davis Hanson for clarity, here on Ricochet, and in a longer piece here for National Review.
And if you're feeling extra sad, let the New York Times cheer you up, with its warm n' fuzzy op-ed, "Hugs From Libyans."
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Jun '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
What's the greatest gift that America can give any Islamic dictator? To militarily attack him without dislodging him.
May '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Ahem, I believe its "Kaddafi". The new editor, huh...
Is it wrong to suggest that some of the good press that this conflict receives from those on the left derives from the fact that it has been conducted under Obama, the Benevolent's watch?
Edited on March 24, 2011 at 3:59pmFeb '11
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
At least the no-fly zone is being taken seriously: in breaking news, French fighter jets shot down a Libyan warplane, said to be the first Libyan plane sent into Libya since the coalition bombing began.
Jul '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
I seem to recall the French having a fetish about saving lives in another venture someplace that the U.S. got involved... Viet Nam wasn't it.
And a Democrat President went along for the ride, Not an a Military role, but only as advisors.
How did that turn out again?
Jul '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
It's not a war we are now told. It is a kinetic military action. You can add this to man-caused disaster, overseas contingency operation and (the latest) outlier instead of a rogue nation and other euphemisms that have proliferated under this administration.
Nov '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Humanitarian interventions can be noble, however, the nobility of our actions here should be canceled out by the fact that both sides would like to see “death to America”. Surely this will have to go down in history as the most ambiguous and disorganized military act ever undertaken. I wonder if it would be in VDH’s top five?
Nov '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
The "humanitarian" rhetoric is just a cover, as is the "internationalism" of the European initiative in Libya. Libya (and North Africa in general) is to Europe what Haiti is to the US: a source of unwelcome refugees, especially when there's trouble; they don't give a damn who governs there. They thought KaDaffy was ready to fall and that they could establish a sort of peace quickly. They guessed wrong, and now they're scrambling to figure out what to do now.
Jun '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Wait a minute... we just deployed 2200 Marines from the 26th MEU at Camp Lejeune to, "help end the violence directed at the Libyan people." Are we to assume that they'll be doing this by telephone, from the ship? How stupid does the president think we are?
Edited on March 24, 2011 at 6:11pmDec '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
How about man-caused overseas disaster contingency operation?
Jul '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
The reason it's a kinetic military action is because Police Action has too many negative connotations to sell.
Dec '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
FWIW, Al Jazeera (english version) spells it Gaddafi.
Dec '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Misleading local reporting, I think.
The USS Kearsarge is deployed off the Libyan coast to perform downed aircraft search and rescue and its Harriers are participating in the "no-fly" zone activities.
The Kearsarge, along with the 26th MEU, has been deployed in the ME area for many months.
Edited on March 24, 2011 at 6:24pmDec '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Jaydee_007
The reason it's a kinetic military action is because Police Action has too many negative connotations to sell.
I thought it was a joke when I first read that phrase. Then I checked. They really are calling it a kinetic military action. Incredible. They really do think most people are that stupid.
Jun '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Nickolas
Misleading local reporting, I think.
The USS Kearsarge is deployed off the Libyan coast to perform downed aircraft search and rescue and its Harriers are participating in the "no-fly" zone activities.
The Kearsarge, along with the 26th MEU, has been deployed in the ME area for many months. · Mar 24 at 10:23am
Edited on Mar 24 at 10:24 am
Ah. I misspoke, then. My apologies.
Edited on March 24, 2011 at 7:11pmFeb '11
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Success in Libya will be a lot like pornography -- you'll know it when you see it.
Feb '11
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Casey, I agree that the reports on the deployment of thousands of Marines has been misleading, and only recently did I also read about them patrolling in the Mediterranean.
Edited on March 24, 2011 at 8:19pmNov '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Nickolas
FWIW, Al Jazeera (english version) spells it Gaddafi. · Mar 24 at 10:17am
The confusion stems from the fact that Libyans speak a non-standard dialect. So while the dictator's name is spelled with a Q (a sound not found in any European language, sort of like a K but pronounced against the uvula rather than the soft palate) Libyans's pronounce it as a G.
Also the dd/dh confusion stems from the fact that the sound in question is the English "th" sound (as in "that," not as in "think") pronounced longer than usual (gadh-dha-fi is distinct from ga-dha-fi in Arabic.) Most Arabic transliteration schemes write this as a D with a diacritic mark, which naturally gets omitted in standard English usage (compare when Claire types a Turkish name with when anyone else on this site does.) "Dh" is an attempt to fix this loss of clarity, though "ddh" would probably be more accurate.
Jun '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
We'll just wait and see how they spell it on the tombstone.
Jul '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
The Marine Corps always maintains a forward-deployed expeditionary unit (which is what a MEU is) from the 2nd Division floating around the Med at all times. It does include a Battalion Landing Team of infantry.
Whether they are sent in or not, they are kept near the coast on standby to do Noncombatant Evacs, TRAP missions, or the like.
Dec '10
Re: Qaddafi, Gaddafi, Qadhafi...
Casey Taylor
Nickolas
Misleading local reporting, I think.
Ah. I misspoke, then.
It appears that article was produced by a local TV reporter in the North Carolina coastal region near where Camp Lejuene is located. It's sort of a "what our guys are doing over there" report that almost makes it sound like they are getting ready to hit the beaches off Tripoli. The locals who understand how the MEU is deployed to the region months at a time probably knew that wasn't happening, but when the report is booted up to the national level it's misleading.