Move contrary to stand on non-lethal equipment
The Obama administration on Thursday authorised the use of killer drones for missile strikes against government forces in Libya, in stark contrast to a statement earlier this week that it would only provide non-lethal military equipment to rebel groups. The drone deployment also runs contrary to the United States' stand that it would tamp down its direct military involvement in Libya by handing over operational command to NATO forces.
U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday announced the induction of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, laden with Hellfire missiles, into the NATO combat mission in Libya, describing its role as “a modest contribution”.
While the Predator was said to have already been conducting surveillance missions over Libya for a few weeks, this would mark the first time in the two-month old conflict that the drone would be deployed for air strikes against the forces of Muammar Qadhafi, the Libyan leader.
This development makes Libya the fourth country in recent history — following Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen — to become a target for Predator strikes and officials said their primary focus would be “helping rebels in the besieged city of Misrata, where a humanitarian crisis has unfolded in the last week,” reports confirmed.
In a press briefing, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first Predator mission in Libya was due to kick off on Thursday night but was reportedly abandoned due to inclement weather. He said two patrols of drones would be deployed above Libya “at any given time,” and they would seek out Colonel Qadhafi's forces in civilian areas.
He clarified why the drones were being used now, saying, “What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets... They are uniquely suited for urban areas.”
According to sources the U.S. move reflects both the fact that there are likely to be gaps in NATO's ability to “carry out complicated, extended combat missions without continued and significant American support,” and also that the rebel forces in eastern Libya are “poorly armed, inexperienced and disorganised.”
Keywords: U.S., Libya, killer drones, Muammar Qadhafi, political turmoil, political crisis
US government is commited in helping Lybia to acheive democracy, but some bunch of rubish that reason like sheep are out there to criticize them.If the US withdraw and leave the battle for Lybian Citizens alone, they can't make it and those enemies of progress that criticise US can't help, so US should go on to liberate Lybia from the shackles of Gadafi.
Gadafi should understand the hand writing on the wall, do the neccesary and allow democracy to be established in his nation. One man cannot be greater than a nation. He took over power from some one about forty years ago. That is enough time to correct whatever he wants to correct and hand over to some one else, and should not behave as if there is no other good leaders among the Libyan citizens.
This article suggests that American drones would be available for the rebels to use,which is not the case. Control over the Predator drone mission would still be from within the United States. On the other hand, 'non-lethal' supplies like medicines are being given directly to the rebels. Even though there is a danger of strategic coastal city of Misrata being overrun by pro-Gadhafi forces, Nato air-strikes cannot be made on enemy targets inside the city for the fear that civilians may get killed. With their superior precision, drones provide a better alternative to neutralise enemy forces with minimum collateral damage.
Sure, Drones fighting on the side of the Good NeoLibyans is a great idea. BUT the Good NeoLibyans must be willing to pay for the military help. (In their case with oil). Cops do not work for free. They protect the good from the evil.... But the cops get paid for it. In this understanding 'Donald' Trump is way ahead of the other candidates.
Libya was taken by the West the day the Libyan revolt picked up weapons. They started an innocent revolution just like Tunisia and Egypt, and the the US gave them arms through the Saudi's, knowing well that they had no chance against the forces of Gadhafi. This opened the door for Sarkozy, Cameron, and Obama who all worked in coordination to sabotage the Arab revolution. Now they will take Libya, dominate it politically for decades to come, sucking its oil dry (biggest reserves in Africa), and using it as buffer between East and West of the Arab world, denying them unification, and keeping Israel safer. Good job America...your ways will never change as long as you don't have a major internal change.
Just what the US wants, kill more people so there will be less resistance to whatever puppet leader they put in place. Then they have access to the vast amounts of oil. Like Iraq this is not about taking out a dictator, but to feed their oil needs.
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