UN authorises military action against Gaddafi

[Chris]

Our money, Chinese money, South American money, he sells it to whoever he can. I dont know about the UK but the US certainly had oil import sanctions against Libya during the 80's and 90's.

And it didnt take the murder of Yvonne Fletcher to tell us what kind of beast he was. He had been supplying arms to the IRA since the early 1970's.

I suspect that whatever facts and arguments you present, it will still turn out to be simultaneously (1) all our fault and (2) none of our business ...

[Natalie Severn]

I suspect that whatever facts and arguments you present, it will still turn out to be simultaneously (1) all our fault and (2) none of our business ...

We did and have done business with Gadaffi---don"t try to duck out of it by referring to everybody else who has.There is a word for it,Complicity.
I notice not one word about the 150,000 innocent civilians who perished during the war with Iraq.
The silence is deafening.

[jason_c]

I suspect that whatever facts and arguments you present, it will still turn out to be simultaneously (1) all our fault and (2) none of our business ...

And it will be pointed out continually that we are hypocratic. As if Realpolitik cant possibly belong in foreign policy.

[jason_c]

We did and have done business with Gadaffi---don"t try to duck out of it by referring to everybody else who has.There is a word for it,Complicity.
I notice not one word about the 150,000 innocent civilians who perished during the war with Iraq.
The silence is deafening.

I ignored them just as you ignore Saddam Husseins victims.

[Chris]

I notice not one word about the 150,000 innocent civilians who perished during the war with Iraq.
The silence is deafening.

I wish you'd give the sanctimony a rest for a bit. I opposed the war in Iraq just as you did.

But how is Iraq an argument for standing aside and letting Gaddafi butcher his victims, if we can do something to prevent it?

[Natalie Severn]

Why the double standard?

I ignored them just as you ignore Saddam Husseins victims.

Why particularly Sadam Hussein? Why not any other dictatorship in the Middle East? or the outskirts of Russia for example Uzbekistan? Why not Burma?
Why are we standing by,right now, letting the Yemen president kill his own people?Is it because there is no oil in Yemen?
Why are we standing by watching the Bahrain King crush the protests of his people?
The Arab league is a collection of corrupt kings and dictatorships---none of whom want to support protesters wishing for freedom and democracy.Might not the establishment of "no fly zones "be in their interests?

Btw £15 billion is invested in Libya by the big oil companies BP and others.Its a bit of a give away to say the least.

[Natalie Severn]

I wish you'd give the sanctimony a rest for a bit. I opposed the war in Iraq just as you did.

Understood.

[jason_c]

Why particularly Sadam Hussein? Why not any other dictatorship in the Middle East? or the outskirts of Russia for example Uzbekistan? Why not Burma?
Why are we standing by,right now, letting the Yemen president kill his own people?Is it because there is no oil in Yemen?
Why are we standing by watching the Bahrain King crush the protests of his people?
The Arab league is a collection of corrupt kings and dictatorships---none of whom want to support protesters wishing for freedom and democracy.Might not the establishment of "no fly zones "be in their interests?

Btw £15 billion is invested in Libya by the big oil companies BP and others.Its a bit of a give away to say the least.

Because Gaddafi and Saddam have "previous" in having an aggressive foreign policy. All their pleading of national sovereignty being paramount is nonsense when you consider that regimes bombing of a Berlin nightclub, funding the IRA, Yvonne Fletcher and Lockerbie.

The collection of corrupt regimes in the region will be watching nervously the recent events in North Africa. These movements towards democracy will have a wildfire effect in the region if they succeed. In an ideal world the most aggressive authoritarian regimes will go first(Iran, Syria). In an not ideal world we may have to help them fall.

It may end up happily, or it may still end in chaos.

[sdreid]

If you're going to say that America should only get into wars where we are physically attacked first then the only wars we would have been in were WWII Pacific Theater and the War on Terror. The Civil War also perhaps if you count Sumter.

[The Good Michael]

Stan

We have a real war on mosquitoes in Minnesota, but it's possible we began with pre-emptive strikes.

Mike

[ChrisGeorge]

Stan

We have a real war on mosquitoes in Minnesota, but it's possible we began with pre-emptive strikes.

Mike

A good swat is a way to start. Good luck to you.

Chris

[sdreid]

Buy gold!! Just kidding

[Derrick]

I wish you'd give the sanctimony a rest for a bit. I opposed the war in Iraq just as you did.

But how is Iraq an argument for standing aside and letting Gaddafi butcher his victims, if we can do something to prevent it?

Hi Chris

Who actually started this uprising in Libya?

The media here in Britain made it look like another Tunisia/Egypt type popular uprising but is that really the truth.

About week after it started 8 or so members of the British Special Air Service (SAS) were caught by Libyans. The SAS were sent in by the British Government and it ended in complete disarray.

How much other foreign interference has been going on there recently and who has Gaddaffi's supporters actually been fighting against.

We now know that they are fighting against NATO.

Why aren't WE going into Indonesia, Burma, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain et al who all have dreadful human rights records to name but a very few.

We love our dictators when they do what they are told...we bomb them when they step out of line.

Derrick

[Chris]

Who actually started this uprising in Libya?

The media here in Britain made it look like another Tunisia/Egypt type popular uprising but is that really the truth.

I can only suppose it started in much the same way as the unrest we've seen in recent weeks all over the Arab world - unless someone can suggest a plausible alternative.

[Natalie Severn]

I can only suppose it started in much the same way as the unrest we've seen in recent weeks all over the Arab world - unless someone can suggest a plausible alternative.

Hands off the Middle East! Its not for us to interfere.