Unless you’ve been living in a cave these past few days, you know that we are now engaged along with coalition forces in an effort to liberate Libya from Muammar Gaddafi. You know about the recent crash of an F-15 in Libya and that the pilot were rescued by Libyan rebels who are grateful to have us there.
But who exactly are these rebels? And why are we helping them at a time when we might stretch ourselves thin with three current conflicts?
The rebels are a people who do not really have the means to fight for themselves. They started out as peaceful protestors who called out for Gaddafi to step down and responded to with brute force.
Gaddafi is a military dictator who’s been in power WAY too long there and had finally crossed the line we were always afraid he would; tightening his grip on a position where he could easily put a stranglehold on the world’s economy and make life miserable for just about everyone in the civilized world.
Right now, you may be looking at this situation wondering why we should bother, or why President Obama is taking this move.
As an American citizen, you can speculate and comment on these things all you want, but as a future officer and fighter pilot in the United States military, who will be called upon to respond to situations like this and take orders from your commander-in-chief, regardless of weather you agree with him or not.
How do you think you would feel if you were a fighter pilot assigned to Libya right now? How would you see your role in the conflict?
Pat says
I would feel very conflicted. In the end the only thing that would continue to drive me to perform missions in Libya is the CHANCE that something great comes out of it. The reason I say “chance” is Libya could end up like Iran in the 70s. Something the CIA calls “blowback.”
The main reason the American people are given for going after places like Libya is to promote democracy and end terrible dictators. If that is true then what about the people in Zimbabwe who are still suffering hyperinflation due to their corrupt government. In one year their dollar went from parity with the U.S. dollar to worthless. Look up Zimbabwe on youtube. Also, does anybody remember that our Constitution says the president must first have an OFFICIAL declaration of war by the congress. We are a REPUBLIC of laws are we not? And finally, we don’t have the money. We are 14 trillion in the hole and that is 100% of our GDP. The Federal Reserve now owns more of our debt than China and Japan. Oh by the way, food prices around the globe are mainly going up due to inflation spurred up by the Federal Reserve. How about those apples? If we think we can do whatever we want without heed to OUR Constitution and our fiscal problems then we are not what we claim to be: a free people. And before anyone says I’m not patriotic, I’m currently enlisted in the USAF and work with the squadron that does intel for the UAVs, U-2s, and satellites.
Victoria says
I wouldn’t question the moral implications… for me it’s simple, Gaddafi’s a bad man… kill him.
shu says
i agree with the USAF guy. we’re spending far too much $$$$$ on these OBAMA adventures!
Rick says
Pat-
You’re right and wrong about Obama needing to get permission from Congress.
I heard on the news that he has between 60 and 90 days before Congress has to be consulted.
Personally, I would be glad to help rid Libya and the world of that repulsive little narcissist. Remember what Ronald Reagan did to him? I only wish Obama was as unforgiving.
Ryan says
One thing that will never change in this world is the fact that there will always be evil leaders, and Libya is not the only country that needs help with liberation. We simply cannot help everyone that needs help, but when it appears that one man is trying to commit genocide on his own defenseless people, and he is a viable threat to other countries, including the US, he needs to be stopped. However, we shouldn’t have to do it alone. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights spells it out for us. It will cost us some serious money, but isn’t it justified?
Pat says
Rick is referring to the War Powers Act. There are constitutional lawyers that say that the law is in itself unconstitutional. That is because the president could go to war without the “approval” of the congress, congress often referred to as “the peoples’ house.” The Constitution says Article 1 Section 8 “Congress shall have power to declare war, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make rules concerning captures of land and water.” Now, the reason the power to declare war was put into the legislative branch was because the founders knew that when in war the law is present but silent. During war it is easy for civil liberties to be tossed out the window. Remember the pure blood Americans who were of Japanese ancestry that were put into camps during the 1940s? Or how about how Lincoln banished a congressman during the Civil War for speaking against him? They knew not to trust the power to initiate war with the executive branch. Let’s remember that President Franklin Roosevelt had to get approval from the Congress first before going to war. Back then, mostly everyone agreed with war but the executive still had to have the legislative branch declare it before the executive could run the war.
But let’s put that aside because that is debatable. Let’s think about the money. We all know that if you don’t have the money, you’re not doing anything no matter how much you want it. China owns about 800 billion and Japan about 700 billion, etc. The Federal Reserve owns more than China. They are the ones who print the money to buy up the debt. Every time the Fed prints money they devalue the money in your pocket. Read up on Weimar Germany or our revolution’s continental dollar. Now, what do you think will happen to our economy once interest rates start to rise on a principal of debt that is at least 14 TRILLION due to selling of our debt? Of course they would rise. What does that mean? That means taxpayers money would be going to creditors and bankers instead of our military and infrastructure. Everything has a price and right now we just don’t have the money to support our fiscal irresponsibility. By the way, if you add up unfunded liabilities to the official debt off both federal and state level we have a total debt of 100 TRILLION. You can google that. The federal reserve official from Texas said that.
saeed zendegan says
I’d do my duty if i was a fighter pilot…..we fight for peace,freedom and america…..
semper fi