{"id":4352,"date":"2011-03-20T07:27:03","date_gmt":"2011-03-20T14:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=4352"},"modified":"2011-03-20T07:27:03","modified_gmt":"2011-03-20T14:27:03","slug":"libya-the-battle-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2011\/03\/20\/libya-the-battle-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Libya – The Battle Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

US, British and French forces attacked Libya yesterday.  As I anticipated<\/a>, the US took on the role of air defense suppression.  The last time I favored a military intervention, it did not go well, because instead of going after Osama and Al Qaeda, as promised, GW ignored his stated goals, tried to build a pipeline to rest control of gas fields in the \u201cStans\u201d, and installed a corrupt puppet, a Unocal employee, and withdrew the forces needed to carry out his promised goal to employ in attempt to conquer Iraq.  Therefore, my support for this operation is not without reservation.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"20libya\"The US, Britain and France pounded Libya with air strikes and Tomahawk missiles on Saturday, sparking a furious response from Moamer Kadhafi who said the Mediterranean had now become a "battlefield."<\/p>\n

United States and British forces fired at least 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libya’s air defence sites<\/strong>, a top US military officer said, two days after a UN Security Council resolution with Arab backing<\/strong> authorised [sic] military action.<\/p>\n

Libyan state media said that Western warplanes bombed civilian targets in Tripoli, causing casualties while an army spokesman said strikes also hit fuel tanks feeding the rebel-held city of Misrata, east of Tripoli.<\/p>\n

Libyan state television said a French warplane was shot down in the Njela district of Tripoli, but the French military swiftly denied the report.<\/p>\n

Kadhafi, in a brief audio message broadcast on state television, fiercely denounced the attacks as a "barbaric, unjustified Crusaders<\/strong>‘ aggression."<\/p>\n

He vowed retaliatory strikes on military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, which he said had been turned into a "real battlefield."<\/p>\n

"Now the arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed," to fight against Western forces, the veteran leader warned.<\/p>\n

US President Barack Obama, on a visit to Brazil, said he had given the green light for the operation, which is codenamed "Odyssey Dawn."\u2026 [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <Alternet<\/a>><\/p>\n

Here is Barack Obama\u2019s statement.<\/font><\/p>\n