Britain May Soon Deploy Ground Troops in Libya

It was obvious when British officiers were helping the rebels get their act together that the formal ground troops will soon follow. We have been there now for over 4 weeks and the war isn't over yet?

(Telegraph) — Britain “may have to look at” deploying ground troops in the Libya campaign in order to establish safe havens for civilians, Liam Fox has said.

Fears of a humanitarian crisis have grown as food imports into Libya’s rebel-held east have been hit while the National Transitional Council struggles to establish lines of credit and foreign traders fear they will not be paid.

Dr Fox, the defence secretary, was asked if soldiers would be needed for humanitarian purposes or to protect safe havens in Libya or its borders and if this would require a new United Nations mandate.

In response to the question by Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP MP, Dr Fox accepted that it was “something we may have to look at”.

2 GOP RINOs Endorse Assassinating Gaddafi with US Ground Troops

Senator's Lindsey Graham and John McCain, two of our favorite GOP RINO's, are endorsing a new plan; assassinate Gaddafi. Graham wanted to "cut the head of the snake off," which is a code name for "assassination." Then McCain stated, "Our Nato allies neither have the assets, nor frankly the will," which is another code name for "US ground troops." McCain's reference my be associated with air power, but it does open the door to ground troops as well. I don't think McCain was referring to the predator drones Obama donated to NATO.

The wonder twins of the GOP are dictating a new policy, which Obama probably will endorse because the longer the presidents stays in Libya, it will hurt his 2012 presidential re-election bid.

(Telegraph) — Senior western leaders called for Nato to adopt an assassination policy against Col Muammar Gaddafi to salvage the bombing campaign in Libya from a descent into stalemate.

The calls came as Col Gaddafi was reported to have strengthened his grip on power by repatriating billions of dollars in overseas assets that should have been frozen by UN sanctions.

On Sunday, there was growing pressure on Coalition forces to directly target Col Gaddafi with military strikes.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services committee, said that the quickest way to end the emerging stalemate was to “cut the head of the snake off”. He said: “The people around Gaddafi need to wake up every day wondering, ‘Will this be my last?’

Senator John McCain, who visited Libya at the weekend, also said that the Libyan dictator should be targeted but argued that it was more important to increase American firepower over Libya. He said: “It’s pretty obvious to me that the US has got to play a greater role on the air power side. Our Nato allies neither have the assets, nor frankly the will – there’s only six countries of the 28 in Nato that are actively engaged in this situation.”

Britain France and Italy Sent Officers to Libya, ground troops soon

Don't you worry. NATO will deploy ground troop real soon.

(BBC) France and Italy have said they are to send small teams of military officers to advise Libyan rebels who are seeking to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi.

French officials said fewer than 10 would be sent, while Italy's defence minister announced that 10 would go.

The UK said on Tuesday it was sending a similar team to the city of Benghazi.

The despatch of the military advisers underlines the growing concerns in a number of European capitals that the air campaign over Libya is not yielding the expected results. After more than four weeks of air strikes, Libyan government forces have not crumbled; the Libyan regime still seems firmly in control in Tripoli; and the rebels have shown very limited capabilities on the ground.

France for one wants to step up the air campaign, but it is clear that unless the rebels can be turned into a more effective fighting force, and without a genuine ceasefire, Nato air operations may have to continue for the foreseeable future.

The French, British and Italians are all stressing that their small deployments do not constitute "boots on the ground" - they have no intention of deploying combat troops. But some MPs in London fear that this is the thin end of the wedge and that the allies risk being drawn ever deeper into the Libyan conflict.

British Military Officers Set to Join Ground Fight in Libya

At first, NATO will allow British military officers to assist the rebels in Libya. But later, I won't be surprise more of military presence in Libya with the US leading the way. To bring military officers on the ground means that the rebels are losing badly and Gaddafi is standing his ground.

(Stratis Incite) The United Kingdom will send military officers to help bolster Libyan rebel grounds fighting Colonel Gaddafi. Britain’s National Security Council had decided to ‘move quickly’ to expand the team already in Benghazi to include an additional military liaison advisory team.

This is the next chapter in the battle for Libya. All other options of just bombing from the sky at Gaddafi’s forces was limited in nature since he had already adjusted his battle plans against the rebels and knew NATO had the advantage in the match up. His only other effective maneuver was to scale back his forces and fight from within the cities. The accidental bombing that killed rebel forces who were returning fire at Gaddafi’s forces whom NATO pilots confused as Gaddafi’s fighters was a turning point that on the ground spotters, officers were need to help guide pilots flying missions enforcing and protecting the no-fly-zone.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said today: “The National Security Council has decided that we will now move quickly to expand the team already in Benghazi to include an additional military liaison advisory team. “This contingent will be drawn from experienced British military officers.”

NATO Bomb Rebels Again and With No Apology

NATO and the Libyan rebels have no formal form of communication. Who would have known rebels were able to seize Gaddafi's tanks? In fact, NATO shouldn't be blamed for blowing the tanks to pieces and killing more rebels. NATO didn't know rebels have the knowledge to drive the tanks. As the crisis enters into the third week, the war has shifted dramatically to Gaddafi's advantage. Rebels are upset because NATO is helping Gaddafi instead of them. It's going to be a very long year as this crisis doesn't seem to have an end date.

(Mail Online) Libyan rebels turned their fury on Nato yesterday after at least 13 fighters were killed and dozens wounded in an airstrike.

Rebel commanders said tanks and military hardware captured from Colonel Gaddafi’s forces had been attacked in daylight with missiles despite being marked on the top in yellow as requested by Nato.

Four missiles hit the 30-vehicle convoy, which included a bus packed with fighters, on the outskirts of the eastern oil port of Brega, according to one rebel commander.

Nato said last night it was investigating the claims that, if confirmed, would be the third time rebels or civilians have been killed after being mistaken for pro-Gaddafi forces.

NATO Fears War without End in Libya

Why is the US in Libya? Is it for oil? It may be an easy war to do. This is what Obama as told America. Obama said that we will go in and leave within a few days or a week. Well, we have been there for over several weeks and it is becoming a stalemate. Again, why are we still there? This will be 3 wars Obama is maintaining. It will a war with no end except for despair. By having no game plan or a concise objective, this war in Libya is lost.

(Spiegel) The front in Libya is barely moving as the country remains split between rebels and Gadhafi's troops. The rebels are complaining of not receiving enough air support, but NATO is hardly in a position to ramp it up after the withdrawal of US fighter jets. The resulting stalemate underscores the lack of a clear strategy for the allies in Libya.

American warplanes had hardly left the skies over Libya when the remonstrations began. "NATO has let us down," said rebel military chief Abdul Fattah Younis. As the rebels retreated in the town of Brega in the face of a heavy onslaught by Gadhafi's troops, there were no NATO planes in sight.

The withdrawal of the American planes, which flew more than half of the sorties in the first two weeks of the air strikes, has weakened NATO's potential force. With the organization having taken control of the operation, American planes are now only in standby mode, leaving the much smaller air forces of France and the United Kingdom to take on most of the workload. Appeals from the NATO leadership to member countries to send more aircraft have so far been met with little success. Only the British have beefed up their presence, increasing the number of its Tornado contingent from eight to 12. The French, meanwhile, are having to split their military resouces between two fronts now, with the opening of the conflict in the Ivory Coast.

But the Libyan rebels are not alone in their complaints: Within NATO, there is also increasing frustration at the slow progress on the ground. The seemingly rudderless attacking and fleeing of the untrained fighters in the face of government soldiers is causing the Western allies to despair, albeit not in public, because it looks more and more likely that the undeclared aim of the international intervention -- the removal of dictator Moammar Gadhafi -- will probably never be achieved.

And this mutual disillusionment suggests that the second phase of the civil war is now beginning. The situation which critics had feared from the start has now seemingly occurred: a stalemate. The rebels are strong enough, with the support of NATO, to maintain their control of Benghazi, but are too weak to drive on in the direction of Tripoli. The front is moving a few miles back and forth, but the split between the Gadhafi-controlled west of the country and the rebel zone in the east seems to be solidifying.

Finally, US Ground Troops are Being Planned for Libya

At this point, you can not believe everything coming from this president. Obama broke so many campaign promises. So, I believe he will put ground troops in Libya because this war means everything for his re-election. To add, it will piss-off many antiwar supporters and liberals, but Obama doesn't care. Air strike will no work in urban combat. There are too many civilians getting in harms way. Since we committed ourselves to this "war," ground troops is the only solution. Once ground troops are in Libya, we can say Obama owns this war. Not Bush, but Obama.

(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - The United States may consider sending troops into Libya with a possible international ground force that could aid the rebels, according to the general who led the military mission until NATO took over.

Army Gen. Carter Ham also told lawmakers Thursday that added American participation would not be ideal, and ground troops could erode the international coalition and make it more difficult to get Arab support for operations in Libya.

Ham said the operation was largely stalemated now and was more likely to remain that way since America has transferred control to NATO.

President Barack Obama has said repeatedly there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Libya, although there are reports of small CIA teams in the country. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told lawmakers last week that there would be no American ground troops in Libya "as long as I am in this job."

NATO Accidentally Killed More Libyan Rebels, AGAIN

This is NATO. What do you expect? Incompetence is the norm, but I don't blame them. The rebels and Gaddafi are both the same; a bunch of terrorist.

(BBC) Rebels in eastern Libya say their forces have been mistakenly hit in a Nato air raid.

Doctors in Ajdabiya told the BBC at least 13 rebel fighters had been killed by the strike on a rebel tank position.

The BBC's Wyre Davies reports chaotic scenes on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, with rebel forces in retreat reporting being hit by Nato air strikes.

It is the third such incident in recent days involving international forces deployed to protect Libyan civilians.

One rebel commander told the BBC he saw at least four missiles land among rebel fighters.

Many people have been killed and many more have been injured, he said.

Civilians are reported to be fleeing Ajdabiya in their thousands, according to the latest wire reports, after rumours spread that pro-Gaddafi forces were preparing to attack the city.

There is considerable anger among rebel troops after what appears to have been a terrible mistake.

They are asking why rebel units were hit, when they could be seen clearly advancing in a westerly direction towards the front line.

"It is unbelievable," said one Benghazi resident. "Nato, with all the equipment they have - is this the second mistake? Is it really a mistake or something arranged secretly?"

Air Force spending $4 million a day for Libya war

It is nice to know there is at least transparency with the military. It would be nice to see Obama more forthcoming. What happen to the promise "the most transparent administration ever?" Yeah, right!

(Yahoo) WASHINGTON – The Air Force secretary says the service has been spending about $4 million a day to keep 50 fighter jets and nearly 40 support aircraft in the Libya conflict, including the cost of munitions.

Secretary Michael Donley tells reporters that the Air Force has spent $75 million as of Tuesday morning on the war. He says the U.S. decision to end its combat strike role in the conflict will cut costs, but he could not say by how much.

He says the Air Force has spent close to $50 million on the relief effort for the Japan earthquake, including $40 million to evacuate between 5,000-6,000 U.S. personnel.

The total U.S. costs for the Libya air campaign as of March 28 were $550 million, not counting normal deployment spending.

Libyan Rebels are Running Out of Cash

REBEL-HELD LIBYA RUNNING OUT OF CASH

It may be a sign of the demise of the Libyan rebels (aka. al-Qaeda). Since there are sanctions against the Libyan government, these frozen bank assets have affected the rebels more than Gaddafi. If this continues, the war in Libya can be declared as a Gaddafi victory!

With the Libyan War, Obama Neglects the Troops Dying in Afghanistan

While Obama is "concentrating" on Libya, the president is neglecting another important or "good" war in Afghanistan. This "good" war is unjust because Obama doesn't have a clear mission for our troops. He actually added more soldiers to Afghanistan without an objective. The travesty of the war is the incompetence in the leadership by Obama. The president is deliberately ignoring the war in Afghanistan while trying to concentrate the war in Libya for political expediency. It is an election year cycle, you know.

(CNSNews.com) – At least 858 U.S. soldiers have died in the Afghanistan war since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. That equals 60.13 percent of the 1,427 American soldier fatalities so far in the ongoing 10-year war in that country.

For March 2011, there were 26 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan, including 4 non-combat related fatalities. That brought the total combat and non-combat deaths for 2011 (January, February, and March) to 70. Those fatalities include 57 combat-related deaths and 13 non-combat deaths.

For the 858 U.S. deaths since Obama’s inauguration, 791 have been combat-related. This means that for the 1,241 combat-related deaths that occurred since the Afghanistan war began in October 2001, about 64 percent happened in the two years since Obama took office.

Last year was the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, with 497 combat and non-combat fatalities. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), or homemade bombs, continue to be the number one killer of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Obama Need to Win the Libyan War to Win Re Election

Rush Limbaugh is very wise to see through the bogus rubbish of Obama. The speech to the union addressing the Libyan crisis had a hidden objective. It was to make Obama look presidential and a proud American. It was very different when Obama was elected into office. The apology tour to the Muslim world was a dead giveaway. Now, Obama puts himself in the spotlight with the Libyan war, which he needs to win to win re-election. It is Obama's make or break moment. If Gaddafi loses, every media outlet will make Obama a war hero and it will be the news til election day. If Gaddafi wins, Obama has other wars he can conjure up before November 2012.

(Rush Limbaugh says Obama sudden Patriotism is because it is an election year)
CALLER: I'm really worried after listening to the speech, I have a feeling there's an impostor or doppelganger or something going on here, because for years we've heard him talk about and apologize for actions like this from America --

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: -- and that he's proud of America, his wife for the first time because he's dominated, what's going on? I don't understand.

RUSH: 2012, reelection. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. You're talking about Obama talk about freedom and the United States is the engine of freedom. We guarantee it and anybody who wants it, they have to call us, we're the only people that can guarantee it, fight for it, give it to 'em. American exceptionalism, all of that, right? You heard that last night. I couldn't believe it.

CALLER: I couldn't. I was stunned. This is not the America I heard him describe, ever.

RUSH: No. But it's called reelection 2012. It's "2012 or Bust" time, is what this is. He's lost the independents. He lost the independents in the November election. He's gotta get the independents back. Remember, now, when he ran for election -- when he ran against America -- he was running against an unpopular George W. Bush and against an unpopular Bush policy: Iraq. It wasn't until he was elected that he actually ran around and started apologizing for the country. It wasn't until after he was elected that people's radar was tuned on. Ours, you and I, we knew all long, but it wasn't 'til after the election that people started wondering: Does this guy really not like the country that much?

Now he's got to make it look like he does. We're in reelection mode. Remember, now: Liberals can never be honest about who they are and get elected, particularly in a national election. So I want to just... You know, Michael, be prepared because not only are you frustrated but you are gonna get doubly frustrated as people believe this going into the campaign. You're gonna get doubly frustrated when you hear the liberal hacks on all the cable networks talk about American exceptionalism and how Obama defines it in fact. You're gonna have your intelligence insulted multiple times a day, multiple times a night.

You're gonna be asking yourself, "Do people not remember the past two years?" You're gonna be asking yourself that -- and the reason is, it's similar to the monologue I dug into last week in Wisconsin. We do things by the rules. We persuade hearts and minds and then we go have an election and then we win. So we think it's time to implement our ideas. When we lose elections what do we do? We say, "They won. They get their judges. They get this or that." They never lose. They'll thwart the democratic process at all costs. Now, there's, I think, another way to explain this to people.

You can do it. It's hard hitting, but you can do it within the entire context of freedom. Have you ever noticed that leftists, wherever they are -- here in America or the Soviet Union or Cuba -- have to wage war on freedom? They have to wage war on liberty. Liberty and freedom are the enemies to their existence. They are statists, authoritarians. They believe in dictatorship, tyranny, central planning, and control. We, on the other hand, believe in freedom. We welcome it. We want it for everybody. We don't try to impose a thing on people. Now, liberalism, leftism, communism, Marxism, whatever it is, is an enemy. We fight it, but not in the same way they fight us. They can never rest. If there is freedom anywhere, liberalism is threatened. We, on the other hand, never feel threatened when people are free, even to be liberals.

So whereas it is not our natural inclination to eliminate them -- not just from positions of power, but from virtual existence -- it is their objective to eliminate any opposition that is rooted in freedom. It's the #1 enemy they face. So we win the election. Scott Walker wins in Wisconsin. We implement policies that were campaigned on. Those policies are in direct contradiction and they contravene the beliefs of the American left, and they challenge their bread and butter. They challenge their economics; they challenge their lifestyles. So anything is fair game to defeat, impugn, get rid of or what have you their enemies in Wisconsin -- and they'll stop at nothing. The law doesn't stop them (you know, a fake judge, renegade judge or what have you). So we're fighting, you know, with two different, completely different motivations

In Libya, Rebel Fighers Now But al Qaeda Back Then

It is now official. The Libyan rebels are al-Qaeda members and supporters. This is the same group Obama wanted to arm with US weapons to fight Gaddafi. It is pathetic that we don't know who is the enemy. At this point picking the lesser of two evils, I pick Gaddafi. If we allow NATO to continue to kill the rebels "accidentally," Gaddafi can just sit back and wait till the international coalition implode. The Libyan war is a total joke.

(ABC News) Less than four years before Libya's popular opposition movement took up arms and revolted against Moammar Gadhafi with enthusiastic U.S. backing, anti-Gadhafi fighters chose another tactic to hit back at the hated dictator: they joined al Qaeda and tried to kill American soldiers in Iraq, according to U.S. documents.

In 2007 the U.S. Department of Defense snatched more than 600 records of al Qaeda's foreign fighters in Iraq and discovered nearly a fifth of the foreigners were from Libya, according to a report by West Point's Combating Terrorism Center released later that year. Within those records, the total put Libya second only to Saudi Arabia in total fighters and "far and away" the largest provider of foreign fighters per capita to the terrorist organization.

The report ties the surge of Libyan recruits to a formal pledge of allegiance to al Qaeda by a major anti-Gadhafi group in 2007.

A day before President Barack Obama authorized covert support of the rebels in Libya, NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe U.S. Admiral James Stavridis said officials will watch potential terrorist presence in the opposition "very closely," but had so far only seen "flickers" of it.

Doubts About NATO in Libya as U.S. Takes Backseat

It is not a good sign when the good guys have doubts about the mission. There is a good chance it will be a "stalemate," which is a Gaddafi victory. This war is an ultimate waste of blood and treasure and money. If there was ground troops, the Libyan war would have ended in couple days. The war is now over two weeks old with no end in sight.

(ABC News) With the U.S. pledge to shift the majority of combat actions to Britain, France and other NATO allies, there is hope that a barrage of assaults on Gadhafi's strongholds will bolster the disjointed rebel forces after several days during which they have lost much of the ground they gained in the first days of the strikes.

A number of U.S. combat forces will cease operations on Sunday, including U.S. Navy destroyers and submarines that have been launching Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean. Also beginning Sunday no U.S. aircraft will be flying strike missions -- though planes and naval vessels will be on standby.

Military experts said that America's reduced role in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone could cripple efforts to keep Gadhafi's forces from battering the rag-tag army trying to topple him.

They said they fear that without U.S. willingness to go after Gadhafi's troops and equipment from the air, and without U.S. ground controllers pinpointing targets, the effort to shield the rebels will fail.

"The idea that the AC-130s and the A-10s and American air power is grounded unless the place goes to hell is just so unnerving that I can't express it adequately," said Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C. "The only thing I would ask is, please reconsider that."

Even Defense Secretary Robert Gates wondered out loud whether the NATO airstrikes can succeed without the United States in the lead.

"They certainly have made that commitment, and we will see," Gates said.

Officials said Gadhafi's army has lost as much as 25 percent of its firepower, but it still outnumbers the Libyan opposition by 10-to-1.

NATO Forces Accidentally Kill 15 Libyan Rebels, Injure 7

Oops! This is NATO and I'm not surprise of their incompetence. I think the commander of the NATO forces is a Canadian.

(ABC News) NATO forces accidentally struck a convoy of five cars belonging to rebel forces west of Ajdabiyah today, reportedly killing at least 15 Libyan rebels and injuring seven.

A plane enforcing the international no-fly zone hit the rebel vehicles, including an ambulance, between Brega and Ajdabiyah when an anti-aircraft gun was fired into the air, the BBC reported.

The accidental hit was a result of NATO forces, who are aiding Libyan civilians, confusing forces loyal to strongman Moammar Ghadafi and rebel groups. Forces on both sides are using civilian vehicles and not wearing uniforms, while most are wearing civilian clothing, according to rebel forces.

NATO officials said they are aware of the reports of the attack and are investigating, according to the BBC.

Representatives of the rebels have told ABC News correspondents that rebels they are not angered by the incident. They say they understand that collateral damage is to be expected and that they want NATO to keep up the pressure on Ghadafi.

Another opposition spokesman, Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, told the AP the incident was an example of the rebels' lack of coordination, which has hindered them in their fight against Gadhafi's troops. The accident today, however, was the second in two days. Seven civilians were killed Friday near Brega, including three sisters, according to the BBC. A doctor interviewed in the area told the BBC that despite the casualties he wants the airstrikes to continue.

Gaddafi to al-Qaeda Rebels, CHECKMATE

Libyan Rebels seek cease-fire after US vows to withdraw jets from further action. Since NATO has taken full control of the situation, any further assistance from the US would need NATO approval. It is comical as the Libyan rebels retreat calls for a cease-fire with demands. Well, Gaddafi is now in full control and there is no negotiations with the al-Qaeda operatives (rebels). Since NATO took control, it is certain that Gaddafi will crush the opposition. It is determined that there are 1000 untrained rebels fighting against Gaddafi. With that diminutive size, it won't take long before Gaddafi destroy the rebels and mock the international coalition. At this point, the international coalition is breaking apart from the seams.

(Bloomberg) Libya’s opposition called for a cease-fire after the U.S. said it’s withdrawing aircraft used to attack Muammar Qaddafi’s forces following adverse weather that prevented strikes allowing Libyan loyalists to push back rebels.

Libya’s rebels would accept a cease-fire if their demands for freedoms are met, said Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebel National Transitional Council, during a news conference televised today from their stronghold of Benghazi. Any agreement would have to involve Qaddafi’s fighters withdrawing from cities and their surrounding areas, he said.

Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. jets, won’t be flying with NATO forces over Libya after April 2. Mullen said planes would be made available only if requested by NATO.

Rebels have been in retreat for three days as Qaddafi’s troops regain the initiative after almost two weeks of allied air strikes against them. Mullen said poor weather over the past three days in Libya meant pilots “can’t get on the targets; they can’t see the targets.”

U.S. political and military leaders said they’re unwilling to start providing arms and training for rebels fighting against Qaddafi. Mullen said there are “plenty of countries who have the ability, the arms, the skill set to be able to do this.” Gates said the U.S. doesn’t know enough about the insurgent groups beyond a “handful” of leaders.

It is Confirmed that 2200 US Marines on Ground in Libya

President Obama said he is admanant he will not put US troops on the ground in Libya. Well, the president lied. US Marines are involved in support operations for the town of Ajdubiyah, Libya. Also, the Marines are involved in search and rescue operations in Libya. There are reports of a rescue for their own marines who crashed an F-15 Strike Eagle due to "malfunction" while on a mission in Libya. Sooner or later, we will eventually see a larger US military presence on the ground in Libya. If that happens, Obama can kiss his second term as president good-bye.

(WCTI12 News)
ONSLOW COUNTY -- We've seen Camp Lejuene Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan and now they are joining the fight against Libya.

About 2,200 Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit will take part in support operations based aboard USS Kearsarge at sea. Those support operations have thus far included air strikes and one rescue operation. The overall mission is to help end the violence directed at the Libyan people.

"In Libya right now they are doing exactly what we need them to do. They are doing what they are told and right now that's protecting Libyan people against Qadhafi forces," said Captain Timothy Patrick, a Marine with the 26th MEU.

UPDATE: Conditions set forth by the U.N. Security Council towards resolving the unrest in Libya included the removal of Libyan Leader Muammar al-Qadhafi’s forces from Ajdubiyah. These latest strikes by the MEU aimed at preserving the sanctity of the city and the safety of the civilians within it. In an effort to safeguard the Libyan populace and infrastructure in and around the city of Ajdabiyah from further attacks by regime forces, 26th MEU, as part of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn, launched a second round of strikes by AV-8B Harrier jump jets.

“Our primary concern was ensuring the people inside Ajdubiyah were safe from Qadhafi’s artillery and tanks,” said Col. Mark J. Desens, commanding officer of 26th MEU. “Everything we are seeing following these strikes indicates that his forces are now less capable of threatening the town than before.”

A Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit's AV-8B Harrier jump jet returns to USS Kearsarge for fuel and ammunition resupply while conducting air strikes in support of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn, March 20, 2011. Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn is the U.S. Africa Command task force established to provide operational and tactical command and control of U.S. military forces supporting the international response to the unrest in Libya and enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973. UNSCR 1973 authorizes all necessary measures to protect civilians in Libya under threat of attack by Qadhafi regime forces. JTF Odyssey Dawn is commanded by U.S. Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear, III
Patrick said that Marines from the 26th MEU are coming on the end of their deployment. They will be replaced with Marines from the 22nd MEU.
A press release from the 26th MEU reads, in part:

"Protecting the innocent and conducting combined operations are what we are designed to do, our forces are doing both as part of the U.S commitment to protect Libyan citizens."

Obama Taken Us into Another Open Ended War in Libya

If the American people couldn't stomach the 2 wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) during Bush's term, I can expect everybody having a severe ulcer knowing Obama has taken us into 3 war at the same time. Not only the presidents rhetoric made no sense, Obama's promises during the campaign trail was a bunch of lies. Obama promised to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, close down Club Gitmo, and re-establish America's moral authority in the world. Instead, we still have troop in Iraq, the good war in Afghanistan in chaos, Obama going on an apology tour, and Obama decided to spill precious blood and treasure in Libya. If you are scared now, just wait when Obama gets another term in office.

(Yahoo) On Monday, President Barack Obama addressed Americans in an effort to clarify ongoing mission in Libya. He stressed that America and its allies intervened aerially to prevent slaughter of innocent civilians.

Quite a turn around for a president who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and whose campaign's theme was opposition to America's two wars-in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

It is now 2011 and the president has not delivered. U.S. involvement in Iraq has been reduced but there are still 50,000 troops stationed in the country and the level of violence is still high. Iraqi civilians are being targeted every day and the government is not in complete control.

In Afghanistan, the situation is actually getting worse. Recent revelations about a U.S. army "kill team" which carried out inhumane attacks against civilians for "sport" has hurt the operation greatly and added to anti-American sentiments not only in Afghanistan but also in neighboring Pakistan.

Instead of focusing on ending these two conflicts and pooling resources to rebuild America's standing in the international community, President Obama has now given the country another war to bear.

NATO Takes Over and Tell Rebels To Screw Themselves

In a turn of events, the rebels finally got the message that NATO will not supply them with weapons to fight Gaddafi. The new mission's objective is to enforce an arms-embargo, no-fly zone, and protecting civilians. But this objective does come with a caveat. NATO isn't there to decide the fate of the Libyan people, but rather, to enforce the will of the international community. With Britian and France having vested interest in Libyan oil, NATO's goal is to kill Gaddafi and establish a regime change.

(WSJ) BRUSSELS—Officials at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which early Thursday assumed control of allied operations to enforce the United Nations mandate in Libya, said they aren't considering arming Libyan rebels.

Simmering debate in Washington and Europe about whether to arm rebel groups and intensified amid the opposition's recent retreat from territory they had gained under the umbrella of coalition airstrikes.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Stockholm that he has taken note of the "ongoing discussion in a number of countries" about arming the rebels but "as far as NATO is concerned...we will focus on the enforcement of the arms embargo," which he said applies "across the board to all sides in this conflict."

NATO took full control of operations in Libya at 6 a.m. Brussels time Thursday. Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, the commander of NATO and non-NATO forces in the operation said that by midday, NATO had run more than 90 flights and sorties. He said he had more than 100 fighters and support aircraft, and more than 12 ships and submarines, under his command.

Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, chairman of the NATO Military Council and the alliance's most senior military official, said the NATO operation, dubbed Unified Protectorate, entails enforcing an arms-embargo and no-fly zone and protecting civilians, as set out by the U.N. resolution.

"NATO is not in Libya to decide the future of the Libyan people," he told a news briefing in Brussels. "We are helping enforce the will of the international community."

Obama's Libya address ratings down from previous speeches

I guess we are just sick of listening Obama speak. Blah, blah, blah....

(Entertainment Weekly) President Obama’s speech viewership keeps on slipping.

Monday night’s policy address on Libya delivered 25.6 million viewers, continuing the president’s trend of declining ratings for his issue-oriented telecasts.

The speech was down 12% from Obama’s address on Iraq last August (29.2 million), which fell 9% from his speech on the Gulf Coast oil spill in June (32.1 million), which in turn dropped 21% from his Afghanistan speech back in December of 2009 (40.8 million). Last night’s address could have been dinged by starting slightly before primetime, at 7:30 p.m. (which also kept Obama from making ABC choose between the commander-in-chief and airing Dancing With the Stars at its usual time).

The president’s telecast was carried across eight networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, TEL, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and MSNBC.