Who’s in charge here? The Obama edition UPDATE: Mission not accomplish?

Hard to say … all I know is it won’t be us, in days not weeks. Right? Last night Newt Gingrich told Sean he thinks this entire Libyan campaign has been botched as bad as any and so far it’s hard to argue with that?

Why even the lefty press and many Democrats are confused, and worried about mission creep. I suspect the worry is well founded simply because no one seems sure what the end game is. Chaos?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W-48DWyMjQ

UPDATE: Ed at Hot Air just posted this … pointing to a Washington Post article.

The Libyan military’s attacks and the mounting civilian deaths call into question whether the internationally imposed no-fly zone can achieve its goal of protecting civilians, let alone help loosen Gaddafi’s grip on power. It seemed unlikely that the coalition, which has argued in recent days over the scope and leadership of the allied mission, would countenance a significant escalation.

Ed then writes this:

The weeks of dithering allowed Gaddafi to seize the initiative and the window of opportunity for an air war success to close.  By the time that the UN, the Arab League, and Obama finally all decided to act, it was at least almost too late.  The coalition can no longer keep Gaddafi out of Benghazi and Misurata, because his forces are already there and are too close to the civilian populations to attack directly.  The only safe targets are Gaddafi’s fixed military installations and his lines of communication to Benghazi and Misurata, which looks a lot more like a traditional multinational war than a humanitarian intervention.

This was not a winning strategy from the get go. Newt is right. It must be chaos at the WH.

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Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

10 Comments

  1. Rick76 on March 23, 2011 at 6:13 am

    Former Reserve war gamer from the Naval War College here.  I am certain that this Operation is being gamed at NWC, NDU, CINCLANT, the Warrior Prep Center in Germany, etc.  They are probably gaming a whole bunch of scenarios and variations on scenarios.



  2. Dimsdale on March 23, 2011 at 8:20 am

    Clearly, making the Øbamateur look bad is all Bush's fault!  LOLOL!



  3. RoBrDona on March 23, 2011 at 8:43 am

    @Rick76 – More likely Sandhurst or Saint Cyr. The Germans are already gone, the UK Armed Forces Minister says no exit strategy exists, the French FM Juppe completely rules out NATO sponsorship, but will accept the Arab League and the African Union, both "non-combatants". It is too late, too little and run by surrender monkeys. 



  4. Plainvillian on March 23, 2011 at 8:49 am

    S B F F D management – Stumble, Blunder, Fart, Fall Down.  We are in the best of hands – NOT!



  5. Rick76 on March 23, 2011 at 10:09 am

    Warrior Prep Center is a joint US facility in Germany. Lots of good Army and AF stuff there.



  6. NH-Jim on March 23, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    It's obvious because the stress is "written" all over Secretary Clinton's face.  She's left hanging in the wind having to explain this fiasco <a title="Transcript-Sec of State Clinton" href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/transcript-sec-state-clinton-talks-diane-sawyer-libya/story?id=13197210&quot; rel="nofollow">(to Diane Sawyer).

    So, what if we leave by Sunday?  Does anyone think the chaotic situation will resolve itself?

    No, I fear that we will see ethnic cleansing, retribution, and massacre by one tribe over another the likes of which we have seen in Sudan & Croatia.



  7. Kolin Claywell on March 24, 2011 at 6:09 am

    Its chaos in the WH, and Obama is sipping wine in Chile. Cant say im surpised.



  8. PatRiot on March 24, 2011 at 6:54 am

    People fighting for freedom was not in the playbook of the US, the UN or any other government it seems.  I guess they don't take free will into account.

    Respecting the sovereignty of an individual, a state or country seems like prudent advise for any government – why – Any big organization takes too long to react.  It is like a dinosaur getting bit in the butt.  It takes a week just to turn around to see what bit it, let alone react properly. 

    And plan B, C, & D are where?  The last few months of turmoil around the Mediteranean should have been plenty of time to have something better than a knee jerk cluster#$%^.



  9. 2MildBill on March 29, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    How long do you think it will take before somebody a the WH makes a call to Blackwater,Inc.?You know, there's this crazy guy in Libya that has to be removed………



    • 2MildBill on March 30, 2011 at 5:49 pm

      "President Obama signed a secret order authorizing  covert  U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters on Wednesday."

      Told you so.



newt

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