The Non-War Illusion

NATO air strike on Libya / USA Watchdog image

The President and his supporters are going to great lengths to make it appear the military operation in Libya is not a war. Deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes called the NATO bombing in Libya “kinetic military action,” but not war. President Obama is also going out of his way to send the message that this is not an American led operation. A week ago, in a nation-wide address, Mr. Obama said he was handing over control to our European allies, “. . . because of this transition to a broader NATO based coalition the risks and cost of this operation to our military and American taxpayers will be reduced significantly.” I don’t see how Mr. Obama knows how much this will reduce the cost of this war if there is no clear plan or goal.

The Obama administration doesn’t even know who they are helping to unseat Gadhafi in the Libya War. The President’s own former national security advisor, General Jim Jones, said yesterday, “We don’t know exactly who the opposition is.” General Jones appeared on ABC’s “This Week” with Christiane Amanpour. She said, “The United States is making a great fanfare about now giving over to NATO, but you are a former NATO commander. NATO for all intents and purposes is an American organization. It’s run by an American commander, the chain of command is American, the biggest command and control and resources are American. This is still an American led operation, right?” And sticking to the Obama administration script, General Jones replied, “I’m not sure I agree with that. . . in the sorties that are being flown now . . . it’s roughly 50/50 and it’s going to go down to where the Americans are going to be supporting and reconnaissance, search and rescue, intelligence and refueling and things like that.” (Click here to see the complete ABC Amanpour interview.)

Read Full Article