#Libya: US Bombed Wreckage of F-15 Fighter Jet That Went Down

See what happens when the US goes in...

Daily Mail (3/22/2011):

US BOMBED U.S. rescue chopper shoots six Libyan villagers as they welcome pilots of downed Air Force jet

Six Libyan villagers are recovering in hospital after being shot by American soldiers coming in to rescue the U.S. pilots whose plane crash-landed in a field.

The helicopter strafed the ground as it landed in a field outside Benghazi beside the downed U.S. Air Force F-15E Eagle which ran into trouble during bombing raid last night.

And a handful of locals who had come to greet the pilots were hit - among them a young boy who may have to have a leg amputated because of injuries caused by a bullet wound.

Reuters Africa (3/23/2011):

WRECKAGE OVERNIGHT OF F-15 FIGHTER JET THAT WENT DOWN IN LIBYA-OFFICIAL

And the US Defense Secretary admits he doesn't really know what the hell they are doing....

Bloomberg (3/22/2011):

“This command-and-control business is complicated, and we haven’t done something like this kind of on-the-fly before,” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Moscow today. “It’s not surprising to me that it would take a few days to get it all sorted out.”

Hmmmm. Haven't your department been doing this kind of thing for 10 years now, Mr. Gates? It sure looks like that to me in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, "-stans" in Central Asia, now Libya.

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#Libya: 110 Tomahawk Missiles Launched from US and UK Ships

From Daily Mail (3/19/2011):

Coalition troops fired more than 110 cruise missiles at Libyan targets in 'only the first phase' of a multiphase operation, a senior U.S. military official said on Saturday.

Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the U.S. military's Joint Staff, declined to discuss what the next phase of the operations would be. He said more than 20 sites had been targeted in coalition strikes so far.

Tomahawk missiles were first introduced by General Dynamics in 1970's, have been in service since 1983. They are now made by Raytheon and Boeing (McDonnell Douglas).

It's $569,000 a missile - so we've blown $62.59 million. Quite a firework.

Raytheon's stock symbol is RTN (on NYSE), Boeing's is BA (on NYSE).

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#UN Authorizes No-Fly Zone Over #Libya (Updated)

(Update)

Voted Yes: United States, Britain, France, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Colombia, Gabon, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa

Abstained: Russia, China, Germany, Brazil, India

Get those sick Gaddafis!!

Just heard on Fox News: Pilots of Britain and France will go in tonight.

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From Al Jazeera (3/17/2011):

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has voted on a resolution authorising a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" - code for military action - to protect citizens.

Ten of the council's 15 members voted in favour of the resolution, with Russia, China and Germany the five that abstained.

No votes were recorded against the resolution, which was co-sponsored by France, Britain, Lebanon and the United States.

The resolution fulfills a long-standing demand from pro-democracy opposition forces in Libya asking for a no-fly zone to be established in order to prevent Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, from using fighter jets to bombard their positions, as they have been doing.

It comes just a few hours after Gaddafi warned residents of Benghazi, an opposition stronghold, that his forces would show "no mercy" in an impending assault on the city.

The draft of the resolution was prepared by the United Kingdom, France and Lebanon, and in the hours ahead of the meeting the United States appeared to have changed its stance on the issue by actively backing calls for not just a no-fly zone, but also strikes against Libyan military targets that could be mobilised against civilians.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, said there was not much time left for the international community to act.

"France is very much involved in this action and has prepared the draft resolution. We have one goal… we want to stop the attacks by the Gaddafi regime against civilian populations.

"And it's a question of days or hours because the pressure against Benghazi, especially, is now very tough."

The Libyan defence ministry on Thursday, before the vote, warned that any military intervention in Libya would endanger air and sea traffic in the Mediterranean Sea.

In a statement released by the state-run Jana news agency, the ministry said that both civilian and military targets in the Mediterranean will be attacked.

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#Libya: Benghazi Celebration vs Libya State TV

Screen shot from Al Jazeera Live Feed. LOL.

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(#Libya) Stratfor: How a No-Fly Zone Could Backfire

Amid the increasing international calls for imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, Stratfor weighs in. Their message: Know exactly what you're getting into, and don't harbor any illusion.

(Who was that person who said people in Iraq would greet US soldiers with flowers?)

George Friedman at Stratfor writes:

Calls are growing for a no-fly zone over Libya, but a power or coalition of powers willing to enforce one remains elusive.

In evaluating such calls, it is useful to remember that in war, Murphy’s Law always lurks. What can go wrong will go wrong, in Libya as in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The full article at the link.

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(#Libya) Where's #Gaddafi's Migs and Mirages?

I'm afraid Gaddafi and his sons are not going anywhere any time soon, contrary to the rumor earlier today. The Gaddafis are playing a cat and mouse game. The so-called retreat by the pro-Gaddafi forces from opposition-held towns may be a teaser. Just a test. To sucker in the ill-equipped, untrained opposition forces to the trap.

Why do I think that way? Because his Migs and Mirages haven't arrived to the scene yet.

From Germany's Der Spiegel (3/4/2011) [emphasis is mine]:

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has always paid special attention to his air force, staffing it with his most loyal followers and supplying it with the best training and equipment. The recent bombing raids in Brega might just be a small foretaste of the overwhelming punch his air power can deliver.

Although a large part of Libya's army has defected and joined the rebel forces, its air force appears to have remained almost completely loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Indeed, it is one of the main factors still propping up the regime and the most serious threat to the insurgents who control the eastern part of the country.

Libya's air force is made up of roughly 18,000 men and women, most of whom are staunch supporters of the regime. The elite military branch recruited from followers who were 100 percent loyal to the regime, and members of Gadhafi's Gadhadfa tribe and its closely allied Magariha tribe were given preference during the selection process for recruits. They have shown a blind obedience to their commander in chief. Only a handful of pilots and officers have switched sides to join the opposition.

In return for their loyalty, Gadhafi has always made sure that members of the air force received the best training and equipment. The fighter wing is reportedly made up of roughly 100 MiG-21 and MiG-23 fighter jets as well as 15 Mirage F-1 and 40 SU-22 planes. The arms depots are thought to be filled to the rafters with munitions.

The planes' missiles are from the arsenals of the former Soviet Union or of more recent Russian makes, according to a report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The report also states that Libya's air-defense system is very well equipped. As Lieutenant-General David Deptula, who recently retired from his position as an air force expert at the Pentagon, told Britain's The Economist, if the West decides to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, the country's surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) could present a serious danger to Allied jets.

Read the whole article at the link. It doesn't paint a rosy picture of a quick victory for the opposition at all. Instead, it indicates a long, protracted war, which the opposition doesn't have an edge over the Gaddafis and their supporters, other than the moral support from the people around the world and a disjointed effort by the Western governments to organize some sort of military intervention to help the opposition.

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Zbigniew Brzezinski Is All For Indirect US Intervention in Libya

In talking to Al Jazeera, he says "some greater, but indirect involvement of the United States would sent the right message" and move things in Libya in the right direction.

Specifically, he wants US ships right off the shores of Tripoli, which alone sends a strong message, according to him, and even better, to unilaterally evacuate the Westerners. It would be the message to the divided Libyan army that it is not in their interest to support Gaddafi.

Ah, Mr. Brzezinski, there may be two problems to your proposal, which I tend to agree more than imposing a no-fly zone:

1. (As I said in my last post,) As long as Gaddafi can buy arms and hire mercenaries with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil money each week, I don't think he cares whether he still has the Libyan military or not.

2. You are expecting the occupant of the White House to actually sit down and think about what to do for more than 10 minutes.

I don't think Prez Obama will or cares. He will simply say yes to whatever proposal that he's given, be it from neocons like McCain and Lieberman or from some trigger-happy generals, as long as it looks like it will increase his chance of getting re-elected next year.

Brzezinski didn't mention a no-fly zone. Interesting.

Here's the segment on Al Jazeera TV:

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Opposition in #Benghazi, #Libya, Wants No-Fly Zone, Bombing by UN on Gaddafi Forces

Libyans, do you agree? Do you want foreigners fighting your war, if not for you but alongside you? Instead of Libyans taking care of the Libyan dictator and his entourage, would you rather have the outsider (the UN) bomb and kill Libyans who don't agree with you?

A no-fly zone would mean Gaddafi's planes would be shot down. The pilots, unlike Gaddafi's rag-tag "African" mercenaries, are Libyans. Do you want to have Libyans killed by the foreigners, because they are flying the planes for Gaddafi?

What would the opposition offer to the UN (or the US, or the NATO, or Arab League, or whatever entity who seems suddenly eager to impose a no-fly zone), in exchange for the no-fly zone and bombing of Gaddafi's forces? Quid pro quo. Don't believe the UN, particularly the West, would do anything purely out of goodwill.

Imposing a no-fly zone requires extensive logistics. I cannot imagine such an action without "boots on the ground" - i.e. foreign troops, special forces, military advisors, inside Libya. Hey that's not much different from the Gaddafi days, is it?

All I can say is "As you wish", and "Be careful what you wish for".

From Al Jazeera Libya Blog 3/3/2011:

12:36am Speaking of the opposition in Benghazi, they say they are not just calling for a no-fly zone, but for UN forces to conduct airstrikes on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

The city is tense, as volunteers continue to sign up for ad-hoc military training ahead of an expected counteroffensive.

12:32am Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN, says the international body may consider setting up the much-debated no-fly zone over the country if the interim National Council formed by the opposition in Benghazi submits a formal written request for one.

What is needed at this time is that such decision be made officially and that we, in New York, are notified of it so that we make a formal request to the United Nations."

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#Gaddafi Speaks for 3 Hours As He Orders Air Raids

Al Jazeera #Libya Blog (3/2/2011) has a running commentary of his speech as he spoke earlier today for THREE hours. (I hope his audience was paid well.) Read from 1:54PM to 4:09PM.

As he spoke of his patriotism and his determination to fight the colonial powers (the West), his air force started to bomb cities. (Mubarak Redux, isn't it? Mubarak didn't have the military on his side though.)

Right on cue, Mr. Gaddafi, you've just given the opening for the West (particularly Washington, where neocons have been agitating) to rally the gullible populace for imposing a no-fly zone.

For what? So that he can die a hero's death, defending his country against foreign aggressors.

Again, reminder: Imposing a no-fly zone in Libya will involve the US and whoever allies of the US bombing Libya's airfields and taking out planes, patrolling 24/7 over Libya to enforce the no-fly zone, setting up bases near and probably inside Libya to support the bombing and patrolling.

From Al Jazeera Libya Blog 3/2/2011 on airstrikes:

4:14pm

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley was just on the phone with us - 10km away from the oil-rich town of Brega. As we spoke, he was watching a Libyan airforce jet bombing the area.

It’s now an air attack. We just watched an air force jet from the Libyan air force fly over Brega and drop at least one bomb - and huge plumes of smoke are now coming out over Brega. Another bombed near our position, where anti-Gaddafi forces have gathered.

All the fighters here are massing. We understand that something like 250-300 pro-Gaddafi fighters inside Brega and they are being surrounded. 
Gaddafi is still a force to be reckoned with, he is not giving up.

The population here want an air exclusion zone to prevent this sort of attack - but they don'twant foreign troops on the ground.

All major oil and gas installations in the town are in thehands of the opposition. We believe this is the main reason for the attack.

4:04pm

Airstrikes also reported in city of Ajdabiya, just northeast of Brega, Casualty count not yet known.

3:55pm

We're hearing from our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that four people have been killed and ten injured in an air raid on the town of Brega.

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Situation Takes Ominous Turn in #Libya: Military intervention, Whether Libyans Like It or Not

Have we seen this line before? Yes we have seen this line before.

William Hague, British Foreign Minister:

"There have been occasions in the past when such a no-fly zone has had clear, legal, international justification even without a Security Council resolution - it depends on the situation on the ground."

More from London Evening Standard (3/1/2011):

The Government has signalled that the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya - to protect the civilian population from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's brutal crackdown - could go ahead without the backing of the United Nations.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said that while "ideally" such action would be sanctioned by a resolution of the UN Security Council, it was not necessarily essential.

"There have been occasions in the past when such a no-fly zone has had clear, legal, international justification even without a Security Council resolution," he told the BBC. "It depends on the situation on the ground."

His intervention came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed David Cameron's call for plans to be drawn up for a no-fly zone, saying that the idea was "superfluous". As one of the five permanent members, Russia is able to veto any resolution tabled at the Security Council.

Mr Hague acknowledged that the Cabinet would have to take "full legal advice" before embarking with allies on a no-fly zone without a Security Council mandate. "You would certainly need a very strong degree of international support," he said.

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