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Ear to the Ground

Two U.S. Ships En Route to Libya

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Posted on Mar 1, 2011
Wikimedia Commons

Defense Secretary Robert Gates chose his words carefully when talking about the U.S. response to the Libyan crisis.

As tens of thousands of Libyans look to leave their homeland or have already fled, the United Nations on Tuesday called for aid in response to the crisis, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the kind of help that America was prepared to offer as the news that he was sending two warships to the African nation hit the wires.  —KA

Los Angeles Times:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Tuesday he was dispatching two warships and 400 Marines as a humanitarian response to the crisis in Libya, but he cautioned that U.S. military intervention should be carefully considered.

“The kinds of options that have been talked about in the press and elsewhere also have their own consequences,” Gates said on Tuesday, referring to calls for a no-fly zone and other possible steps to halt attacks by Moammar Kadafi’s forces on rebels. “They need to be considered very carefully.”

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fearnotruth's avatar

By fearnotruth, March 2, 2011 at 10:42 pm Link to this comment

RE:...us USers that’s the disconnect, rico, old chap - they ain’t us - in fact,
they (the ones that really call the shots) ain’t nobody but them: no nationality, no
ethnicity, no religion, no loyalties - to them, us, all of us, is cannon fodder - and
trust me on this one; they trust nobody but nobody, especially the rest of them

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fearnotruth's avatar

By fearnotruth, March 2, 2011 at 10:27 pm Link to this comment

RE:...he is doing very well.

agreed - best Puppet POTUS yet - Wall Street and City of London have been
celebrating since he came in off the campaign trail back in 2008 to put some stick
around Congress and save their sorry banksters asses

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Spooky-43's avatar

By Spooky-43, March 2, 2011 at 10:15 pm Link to this comment

We will be well past $6 gasoline and 15% unemployment by the 2012 election. 

Obama can’t risk an election.  He has to get things so stirred up he can declare himself president-for-life well before then. 

I would say he is doing very well.

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rico, suave's avatar

By rico, suave, March 2, 2011 at 9:57 pm Link to this comment

fearno:

Seriously, I have no idea why any non-Arab country, especially us USers, would want to get involved, especially in Libya. Let those folks work things out for themselves. Besides, if they are organized anything like a typical Westphalian nation state, they will have their versions of the Bildebergers and the Trilateral Commission, and banking cartels, and CIA-type intelligence oragnizations and military-industrial complexes. In which case, the “people in the street” are just temporary, expendable pawns in the big game and will be squashed like bugs forthwith and at the proper time. And, we will be back to the status quo ante, new faces, same game.

For some reason, Obama thinks it prudent to pull a Commodore Perry. I think it’s a bad idea and I have no clue what he expects to gain.

Oh.

Wait.

$6.00 gasoline and 15% unemployment right around November 2012.

Doh!

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fearnotruth's avatar

By fearnotruth, March 2, 2011 at 2:22 pm Link to this comment

rico, good buddy, hope the R&R is treating you well - sorry if I wasn’t clear - the words are not
mine; quoted is Webster Griffin Tarpley from his home page:  http://tarpley.net/ where there is also
posted a 30 min. interview (his detailed analysis) on the Libya crisis - I shared it because it is worthy
of consideration

as for what I believe, what does it matter? - I’m nobody, so who cares? - as for what is ‘known’, how
could any of us know for sure what’s going on in Libya? we rely on others to report, interpret,
analyze - certainly choosing whom to trust is important

as for me, beyond the weather report, there’s virtually nothing in the main stream media that I trust
and very little in the alternative media, which is seeded far and wide with limited hangouts and
disinformation - about this, we need not speculate, we have it from the source - as you’ve seen me
post before,  there are 2 things to never forget:

1. “Deception is a state of mind and the mind of the state.” - James Jesus Angelton - Director of CIA
Counter Intelligence (1954-74)

2. “The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media.” - William
Colby - Director of the CIA (1973-76)

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By richard roe, March 2, 2011 at 2:02 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Does anyone really think this temptation to sell more weapons and grab more oil will be resisted?

This sitution is a wet dream for Exxon, BP, Mobil, Chevron and US arms manufacturers.

The BIG question is there enough fuel on the fire yet to spark all out war between the US/EU & BRIC?

If the Suez canal closes and gold breaks $1,600 per ounce, all bets are off.

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rico, suave's avatar

By rico, suave, March 2, 2011 at 12:38 pm Link to this comment

fearno:

Are you supporting Gaddafi now? You believe the Russian opinion that people aren’t being shot at from Gaddafi’s airplanes? And maybe anti-Gaddafi forces are targeting black Africans because Gaddafi hired black Africans as mercenaries, d’ya think? Or don’t you believe that story either.

And, in typical truthdigger straw man logic, the idea that David Cameron merely SUGGESTING that Obama get militarily involved turns it, ex post facto, into a “hardball reality” for you. Yep, the US is invading Cyrenaica and taking over oil fields as we speak.

Let’s say it can be proved that Gaddafi’s jets are shooting at people on the ground. In that case should the US send up Navy jets to shoot down the Libyan jets? And if you answer, no, can I then label you as a Gaddafi lover and shill? But then I’d have to label you as hating Al Qaeda since Al Qaeda is on the rebels’ side. What a conundrum. I love truthdig rules of logic. They’re so simple and rigor-free.

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By Rodney, March 2, 2011 at 10:36 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Can’t miss the opportunity to blow some shit up.

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By FRTothus, March 2, 2011 at 8:02 am Link to this comment

*to be

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By FRTothus, March 2, 2011 at 8:02 am Link to this comment

The bully only knows how be a bully.

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zonth_zonth's avatar

By zonth_zonth, March 2, 2011 at 6:45 am Link to this comment

yep, the gov is really reeling in the spending now (cut and paste- on the Boeing billion dollar contract article).  Always leading by a good example! Can only hear the mantra in GW toothless dialect “The most powerful contry in the world” or Obama’s strained and confused dialect “Leaders of the free world”
Nearly a trillion a year to watch this dog and poney show.

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fearnotruth's avatar

By fearnotruth, March 2, 2011 at 4:51 am Link to this comment

one can have a lot of fun with this or look at the hard-ball realities…

http://tarpley.net/

US-UK Imperialist Rampage Envelops Libya in Civil War with Help from “al Qaeda”;
Qaddafi Regime Counterattacking; Cameron Pushes Obama for No-Fly Zone,
Invasion of Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) to Seize Oil Fields; Russia Calls Stories of
Qaddafi Air Force Strafing Protesters Unfounded; Anti-Qaddafi Lynch Mobs Target
Black Africans; 30,000 Chinese in Danger; 1995 Shayler Affair Scenario Operative

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By M. Dankova, March 2, 2011 at 3:13 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Out of their depth, and making it up on the fly.  Would be fascinating to watch if it
didn’t scare me to death.  Better take cover!

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By expat, March 2, 2011 at 3:00 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Please allow me to be Robespierre’s Danton…

I for one hope ameriKa the neocon sends the troops into Lybia.

That will guarantee a hastened end to the empire.

It will destroy nato and everything else, opec in very short order.

As for the Lybians, it wouldn’t be so great for them…  in the short term…  in the long term everybody will benefit form uSSa destroying its credibility, standing, and “authority”, in effect destroying itself..

On top of everything this will be the death kneel to the QE2,3,4… easing economy, hyperinflation is here… game over!

Anybody not making plans for leaving the sinking ‘merican ship asap is a fool.

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By rollzone, March 2, 2011 at 1:43 am Link to this comment

hello. so, Oboymamma is not commander-in-chief? and the
axis of evil is Iran, North Korea, and Libya? and we
need to spend billions of dollars in movements for an
action that could be carried out by one bomber and six
fighters? or a couple missiles lobbed from a sub? or an
ICBM we never get to use? why do we do everything alike
we live in the 1960’s, when if we cut off his CNN,
stock feed, and HBO satellite, he would surrender?

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By gerard, March 1, 2011 at 10:08 pm Link to this comment

Cross your fingers!

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By samosamo, March 1, 2011 at 10:07 pm Link to this comment

****************

 

Full tilt ‘disaster capitalism’ shock doctrine boogie.

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By TDoff, March 1, 2011 at 9:16 pm Link to this comment

Yeah, let’s not miss this opportunity to start a third-front war in our battle with our former friends in the Middle East. Iraq and Afghanistan have gone on so long they are boring our media-masters, and thus our public, and losing their attention, but NOW! Just imagine the headlines and interest if we managed to sink Libya in a naval battle!!

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Robespierre115's avatar

By Robespierre115, March 1, 2011 at 9:03 pm Link to this comment

Sure, send in the troops…and the region will erupt into a fireball.

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