5 ms·

U.S. Missiles Strike Libyan Air-Defense Targets

10 points by potomak 16y ago

zdw 16y ago
Seen on twitter: "U.S. fires 110 tomahawk missiles, each costs $569,000. That's more than 5 years of NPR federal funding in less than an hour." Anyone else think Ike was right about that military industrial complex?
- tzs 16y ago
  Someone brought this same thing up on Reddit. I'll just recycle my comment from there (but with more genteel language): I'm curious. How big of a budget increase for NPR would it take to stop Gaddafi from crushing the rebellion and massacring the rebels and many many uninvolved civilians? I suppose if Gaddafi were a contestant on "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" and won Carl's voice on his home answering machine, he might feel so happy he just could not bring himself to order the next round of killings. Or maybe if "This American Life" were on more, he'd get caught up in some of those great stories and forget about the revolt? Maybe Gaddafi is crazy because there's a weird noise in his car, and if only "Car Talk" were on 7 days a week instead of 1, a solution to his problem might be revealed, and then he'd stop being crazy? In other words, what the heck does NPR's budget have to do with the situation in Libya?
  - democracy 16y ago
    And your knowledge of Gaddafi's cruelty is based on what?
il 16y ago
And so, we're now involved in three wars.
- kjhghnjmk 16y ago
  And once democracy hits $120/barrel Iran as well
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  - edge17 16y ago
    If you think the US went into Iraq for oil, you should also bear in mind that it would have been cheaper to buy oil on the open market than wage war for an extended period of time. Just my two cents. $120/barrel isn't high enough to go to war over.
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- ceejayoz 16y ago
  It looks like pretty minimal chance of ground involvement, though. If airstrikes count as a war, we've been at war with Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. way before 9/11.
  - pan69 16y ago
    Don't forget Long Cheng (Laos): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL_c5tYdw-c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL_c5tYdw-c
- melling 16y ago
  This will be over quickly. The US involvement will probably be limited to a supporting role (missiles, not planes). We probably wouldn't be involved at all, but come election time, it wouldn't look good if Libya was "liberated" and the current administration did nothing.
dmix 16y ago
I can't help but be reminded of the Team America film. Like most South Park material it seemed crude and ridiculous on the surface, but underneath the surface its sadly accurate.
- tzs 16y ago
  I don't recall Team America being about carefully following international law and getting approval from the UN after the majority or regional governments ask for help. I guess I need to re-watch that movie.
tshtf 16y ago
On September 11, 2001, the Libyan government condemned the attacks against the United States. In 2004, the US ended economic sanctions against Libya; only crypto/munitions-related sanctions remained. In 2006, the US restored full diplomatic relations with Libya. In 2007, Libya was elected to serve on the United Nations Security Council for two years. Today we're at war... How times change.
- maratd 16y ago
  On December 21, 1988, the Libyan government murdered 189 Americans and almost a hundred other nationals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103 What is shameful is that it took this long to remove that parasite.
- democracy 16y ago
  I thought On September 11, 2001 it was Talibs, or wait, it was Iraqis, or wait, right, it was Gaddafi! Finally...
- svlla 16y ago
  yeah it's not like there's been any recent developments of note in that region at all either, huh
potomak 16y ago
The same piece of news on the Telegraph: "Libya: British forces fire missiles at Gaddafi" Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8393128/Libya-British-forces-fire-missiles-at-Gaddafi.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianoce...

10 points by potomak 16y ago

zdw 16y ago

Seen on twitter: "U.S. fires 110 tomahawk missiles, each costs $569,000. That's more than 5 years of NPR federal funding in less than an hour." Anyone else think Ike was right about that military industrial complex?

tzs 16y ago
Someone brought this same thing up on Reddit. I'll just recycle my comment from there (but with more genteel language): I'm curious. How big of a budget increase for NPR would it take to stop Gaddafi from crushing the rebellion and massacring the rebels and many many uninvolved civilians? I suppose if Gaddafi were a contestant on "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" and won Carl's voice on his home answering machine, he might feel so happy he just could not bring himself to order the next round of killings. Or maybe if "This American Life" were on more, he'd get caught up in some of those great stories and forget about the revolt? Maybe Gaddafi is crazy because there's a weird noise in his car, and if only "Car Talk" were on 7 days a week instead of 1, a solution to his problem might be revealed, and then he'd stop being crazy? In other words, what the heck does NPR's budget have to do with the situation in Libya?
- democracy 16y ago
  And your knowledge of Gaddafi's cruelty is based on what?

il 16y ago

And so, we're now involved in three wars.

kjhghnjmk 16y ago
And once democracy hits $120/barrel Iran as well
- deleted 16y ago
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- edge17 16y ago
  If you think the US went into Iraq for oil, you should also bear in mind that it would have been cheaper to buy oil on the open market than wage war for an extended period of time. Just my two cents. $120/barrel isn't high enough to go to war over.
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ceejayoz 16y ago
It looks like pretty minimal chance of ground involvement, though. If airstrikes count as a war, we've been at war with Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. way before 9/11.
- pan69 16y ago
  Don't forget Long Cheng (Laos): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL_c5tYdw-c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL_c5tYdw-c
melling 16y ago
This will be over quickly. The US involvement will probably be limited to a supporting role (missiles, not planes). We probably wouldn't be involved at all, but come election time, it wouldn't look good if Libya was "liberated" and the current administration did nothing.

dmix 16y ago

I can't help but be reminded of the Team America film. Like most South Park material it seemed crude and ridiculous on the surface, but underneath the surface its sadly accurate.

tzs 16y ago
I don't recall Team America being about carefully following international law and getting approval from the UN after the majority or regional governments ask for help. I guess I need to re-watch that movie.

tshtf 16y ago

On September 11, 2001, the Libyan government condemned the attacks against the United States. In 2004, the US ended economic sanctions against Libya; only crypto/munitions-related sanctions remained. In 2006, the US restored full diplomatic relations with Libya. In 2007, Libya was elected to serve on the United Nations Security Council for two years. Today we're at war... How times change.

maratd 16y ago
On December 21, 1988, the Libyan government murdered 189 Americans and almost a hundred other nationals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103 What is shameful is that it took this long to remove that parasite.
democracy 16y ago
I thought On September 11, 2001 it was Talibs, or wait, it was Iraqis, or wait, right, it was Gaddafi! Finally...
svlla 16y ago
yeah it's not like there's been any recent developments of note in that region at all either, huh

potomak 16y ago

The same piece of news on the Telegraph: "Libya: British forces fire missiles at Gaddafi" Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8393128/Libya-British-forces-fire-missiles-at-Gaddafi.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianoce...