| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Africa North | |
| US Ending Its Air Combat Role in Libya | |
| 2011-04-01 | |
The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign in Libya, hoping NATO partners can take up the slack.
"Odd," ''troubling" and "unnerving" were among critical comments by senators pressing for an explanation of the announcement by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that American combat missions will end Saturday. "Your timing is exquisite," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said sarcastically, alluding to Gadhafi's military advances this week. | |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #20 I guess this means we won't see the A-10 or AC-130. That's too bad for the rebels. |
| Posted by: Keystone 2011-04-01 22:57 |
| #19 Since his whole campaign was based on Hope and Change what do you expect? He's run out of Hopium. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2011-04-01 19:06 |
| #18 And he thumbed his nose at both Congress and the Constitution. If it were deliberate, I'd have to say "well played". |
| Posted by: Shereter Poodle9774 2011-04-01 18:22 |
| #17 Word, Pappy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-04-01 16:12 |
| #16 Cutting his losses. He was stupid to get into this war. He is smart to get out. It's over. And he gets to leave the Euros (and Qatar) swinging in the wind. It's a two-fer. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-04-01 16:05 |
| #15 Now it's French & British against Qadaffy's mercs. God send the right! |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-04-01 14:09 |
| #14 Cutting his losses. He was stupid to get into this war. He is smart to get out. It's over. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2011-04-01 13:42 |
| #13 "O" must have reread the exit strategy for Vietnam. Stop aerial support and cut of the supplies to our side. He's left out the Paris Peace Talks and a Nobel Peace Prize for the Hildabeast and Qaddafi. Will we provide helicopter evacuations from Benghazi rooftops? The MEU is in place. After the Paris Agreements, however, the American role took the form of gradual abandonment of South Vietnam when the U.S. withdrew its combat troops, stopped air support, and cutback military and economic aid.17 It was this feeling of abandonment--no longer being regarded by the United States as worth saving--that had a devastating impact upon the people and leaders of South Vietnam in those tragic last months of 1975. |
| Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2011-04-01 11:31 |
| #12 Remember when the NVA was getting its butt kicked? So, they'd put out feelers or start talking up the stalled Paris talks, but required a halt in the bombing campaign before they'd go any further. The bombing was stopped, the NVA recovered and replayed the same game plan over and over again. Gadhafi remembers. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-04-01 10:48 |
| #11 Seems the "freedom fighters" have some new toys and are setting minimum expectations for a cease fire. Seems The Duck of Death's top advisor(s) are bailing at the same time some of the rest of them are negotiating a safe path to anywhere but Libya. Uganda has offered him a place to live should he decide to "retire". I'm hoping Barry knows something for sure that we can only infer. |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-04-01 10:32 |
| #10 remember this? Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. Joe Biden |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-04-01 10:12 |
| #9 "A NATO F-16 fighter jet" ? Don't scratch the painted NATO insignia too hard, there might be a USAF emblem under there !! |
| Posted by: Chet Logan 2011-04-01 09:32 |
| #8 Just another Obumble Executive Finding. Back to Rio? |
| Posted by: Titus Slusorong5901 2011-04-01 09:30 |
| #7 The Pentagon is about to pull its attack planes out of the international air campaign Wow. If this is accurate, Red Barry just cut the legs from under the coalition as well as the Libyan rebels. He's also destroyed any hope of the US building coalitions or of even finding allies for an entire generation. It's suspiciously like that is the plan. Even if just the US combat sorties are curtailed, the rest of the coalition will have to double combat sorties. With news that Britain has pulled training cadres into this NFZ duty means they won't even be able to sustain this pace for more than a few weeks, let alone double the effort. If US support assets are also pulled, the other nations won't be able to sustain even half their current sorties, as well as being virtually blind to what is happening on the ground. Everyone else being so very poor on support assets, the most critical being tanker aircraft. According to Strategypage.com: So far, American aircraft have flown about sixty percent of the sorties, but only about half of the combat sorties. About 55 percent of the sorties are for support (reconnaissance, electronic eavesdropping, aerial refueling). The no-fly force has been averaging 100-150 sorties a day, but demonstrated the ability to fly as many as 300 a day when such a surge is needed. About 700 missiles and smart bombs have been used so far, in addition to about 150 cruise missiles. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 2011-04-01 09:25 |
| #6 Suez 2.0, but with a few more nations. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-04-01 08:35 |
| #5 Is this an April fool? Nope. Zero is a fool every day of the year... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2011-04-01 08:06 |
| #4 So....Clapper was correct with his statement.... |
| Posted by: armyguy 2011-04-01 07:57 |
| #3 Is this an April fool? |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2011-04-01 07:40 |
| #2 incredulous reactions from some in Congress why the Obama administration would bow out of a key element of the strategy for protecting Libyan civilians and crippling Moammar Gadhafi's army. Obviously Obama has no wish to be connected to a FAILED EFFORT! "NATO Partners" decide to leave Afghanistan in 5,4,3,2..... |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-04-01 06:56 |
| #1 Well, at least Barry will end it before the media re-discovers the quagmire word. I imagine this was his 'plan', all along - 15 days, some cruise missiles, no American caskets... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2011-04-01 06:53 |