Gates Warns of ‘Loose Talk’ About Attacking Libya
US Warships Near Libyan Coast as Tensions Rise
Though the protest movement that has ousted the Gadhafi regime from most of the nation appears to be in near unanimity in their opposition to a US attack, the idea continues to be a popular one in Congress, with a number of top officials eagerly advocating such a move.
Indeed, such endorsements of a US or NATO-led occupation are so common that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today expressed concern during Congressional testimony over “loose talk” about the prospect of attacks or establishing a “no-fly zone.”
Gates insisted that the talk of a no-fly zone missed the obvious consequence, that such a zone would require a military attack on Libya, aimed at destroying the nation’s air defense systems. Many of those systems are under the control of the protest movement in East Libya, surrounding the oil facilities to protest them from Gadhafi attacks.
Though other top US officials insist “no option” is off the table, the military’s ability to launch another massive occupation in Libya is very much in doubt, with a floundering occupation already in place in Afghanistan and US officials openly talking about extending the Iraq War beyond the end of the year.
At the same time, more US warships are nearing the Libyan coast, having passed through Suez, and the administration seems keen on having as much military force along the coast as possible.
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VietNamWarVet
March 3rd, 2011 at 5:49 am
A Congress filled with idiots and morons, crooks and thieves, some perverts, and all too many TRAITORS – wow – all too willing to send someone else's son and daughter into harms way – a cowardly crowd of warmongers, most of whom never served in the military – and now they want war with yet another country.
The 'Republic' is dead – 'Democracy' in America is too corrupted to work.
JLS
March 3rd, 2011 at 6:55 am
Hilary must be gutted to hear Gates say things like that!
andy
March 3rd, 2011 at 11:32 am
Looks like Washington is trying to pursue its old tried and failed policy of not minding its own business.
thedissenter
March 3rd, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I'm worried about Gates. Can somebody please take his temperature (anally)? This is the second time in as many weeks that he's talking about no war. He must be sick. If he keeps it up, he may soon die of that long illness which may be a knife to the heart or a bullet to the head.
the lion
March 3rd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
The truth is "thedissenter" is he really KNOWS how broken the US military REALLY is. Something that he doesnt want the rest of the world to know.
Facts are that the US would have severe trouble raising a large enough force to go in do the job and do what it does so well,
Set up camp and stay!
Thats what it has done in every war its been in for the last century or so. Instead of go indo the job and get out and stay out.!
Anyway the Arabs of Libya want to both show the world that they can do the Job themselves, even if Gadaffi cant! They also want to be able to choose their own government something that will never happen if America or in fact NATO or the EU do it for them.
Jason Ditz « Antiwar Radio with Scott Horton and Charles Goyette
March 6th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
[...] Ditz, managing news editor at Antiwar.com, discusses Robert Gates’s warning on the spillover effects of imposing a Libyan no-fly zone; the daunting prospect of invading and [...]