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Posts Tagged ‘NATO’

With the fall of Sirte and more importantly the death of Gaddafi, this phase of Libya’s past ends and a promising if difficult future beckons. Yes, it could all go horribly wrong but providing the Libyans keep their heads cool, a small population of 6 million, substantial oil based income and therefore the money to rebuild their infrastructure, if corruption can be avoided, their future will be very bright indeed.

David Cameron was quite rightly very businesslike in what he said following the news concerning the death of Gaddafi but I have been quite amused by some of the comments and their undertones which have been made by some that can be summed up as: “Now like Tony Blair, he has got a successful war under his belt, he might get a taste for it…” I have to wonder just how perceptive or sober some of these people are, these are very silly words.

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It seems that very suddenly, the situation has changed dramatically in Libya but one suspects that behind all that has been a lot of hard work and patient build up in preparing for the final assault on Tripoli.

It is not over yet, there is still plenty of scope for further bloodshed and the ideal outcome that the fighting should stop fairly immediately, at this time is not in sight but, it may not be far away.

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There are times when the mutterings of the Metropolitan Media Classes, really get up my nose. It is not their smug left wing bias, it is their dishonesty and inability to see an issue as it really is rather than as a reflection of their own current hormonal imbalances. A prime example was this in the Independent of the other day : http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-mission-creep-and-perilous-tactics-in-libya-2288471.html

I have no doubt that if Gaddafi had been allowed to massacre his opponents as he intended, the Independent might well be the first to write that “Something Should Be Done !” and then accuse the British Government of inaction and sacrificing the innocent because of our interests in continuing access to Libyan oil and exploration rights. Remember all the headlines over releasing Mehgrani ?

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With the deployment of 10 UK Military Advisers, similar numbers from France and Italy plus the US deploying a couple of armed ‘Raptor’ drone aircraft, there are numerous articles on “Mission Creep” and the “V” word (Vietnam), which rather ignores the experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan which to say the least, have been chastening for the West and a check on American idealism.

For a flavour of the drivel being written, the following is a good place-holder: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8461863/British-troops-go-to-Libya-amid-Vietnam-warnings.html

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Today being Remembrance Sunday and the sad news that we have suffered the 200^th casualty since operations started in 2001 with the fall of the Taliban. Although British casualties were light up until 2006 when the then Defence Secretary John Reid announced a significant troop deployment to Helmand Province, they have accelerated since and will no doubt continue to do so.

Should we, will we leave Afghanistan ? The answer of course is Yes but not in the immediate future and certainly not within the year. President Obama is obviously struggling with this one on many levels and frankly the withdrawal plan will be initiated by the US not so much because of military but rather with “political and prestige” reasons uppermost, these are not trivial considerations.

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