dagblog - Comments for "Wesley Clark: Libya isn’t worth helping — they don’t have enough oil"

Hah.The situation reminds me

moat — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:35:43 +0000

In reply to Really, up until Clarks brain

Hah.

The situation reminds me of the tagline of a blogger i read long ago in another galaxy:

"Memes don't exist: Spread the word."

Really, up until Clarks brain

A Guy Called LULU — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:46:25 +0000

In reply to I guess Clark didn't get the

Really, up until Clarks brain fart slip of the truth, who knew?

I guess Clark didn't get the

moat — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:26:38 +0000

In reply to I'm happy to hear what you

I guess Clark didn't get the Cheney memo that U.S. energy policy is a covert operation.

I'm happy to hear what you

A Guy Called LULU — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:39:00 +0000

In reply to Clark also says: "it would

I'm happy to hear what you think is wise, and I am happy that anyone thinks about these things in the way that you represent, and I am happy that some come to feel passionately about some of the same things that I feel passionately about, and that they, at least roughly, share my views. I'm just kind of happy all over, I guess.
Look, you sound pissed. Good, IMHO. But, what I think happened here is that you assumed, for no supportable reason that I can guess, that because I linked to the article I must therefore support what the General said and also that I agreed with his cynicism.
Actually, what I was struck by in the article, and then wanted to point out, was the fairly obvious, actually blatant, acknowledgement by the good General that it is all about oil. Not that I think it is all about oil, mind you, I'm not an "end-times" kind of Guy, no way, I only think oil is ninety to ninety-nine percent of the reason that the choosers made the choices they made.

Clark also says: "it would

NCD — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 04:23:56 +0000

In reply to Wesley Clark: Libya isn’t worth helping — they don’t have enough oil

Clark also says: "it would become the United States vs. Gaddafi, and we would be committed to fight to his finish. That could entail a substantial ground operation, some casualties and an extended post-conflict peacekeeping presence."

So I suppose A Guy Called Lulu thinks the US should jump in and clean up Libya? We can't wait for the 10 year+ war to end in Afghanistan, and Obama is supposed to jump into another one in a failed state ruled by a madman for 40 years in Africa?

Afghanistan has one of the most corrupt governments in the world and we have been there for 10 years an spent hundreds of billions, and you think we should start another nation/government building enterprise in Libya, which is what Clark is warning us about?

OK, so ideal scenario (at first).

We fly a few planes over, Qadaffi scoots off the next day to Sudan with a load of his cash.

Ideal scenario over, reality sets in, America now 'owns' Libya. Qadaffi leaves a few million hungry, armed and angry people divided by loyalties and tribes with no government, dozens or more Qadaffi wannabes the big Qadaffi left behind who may take hostage any American or European they can get their hands on, no functioning state institutions, most or all foreign workers gone and who are not eager to return to do work no Libyan can apparently do, oil facilities damaged, many or most locals with scores to settle, no history of self-government and everyone has their hand out or in the back pocket of the first American who hits the beach? A good plan?

Libya is also over 3 times as big as Iraq, although with only about a quarter of the population. Libya holds billions in stock of companies in Italy, and Italy and Europe are the primary trading partners with Qadaffi, and Italy gets 1/4 or more of its natural gas from Libya. Qadaffi gets many of his aircraft and weapons from France. These European countries all have an air force and an army. Let them lead on it. Let the Arab states like Egypt or Saudi Arabia help, they have billions in weapons and fighter aircraft we have sold them and trained them on over the years.

I think it is wise for Obama to not jump the gun in this complicated and uncertain situation.