MERGED: The Arab Spring

[canadianincebu]

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It's unfortunate that as usual US politicians are more focused on using the crisis for political advantage than actually resolving the issue. I think Obama made a wise and necessary decision and prevented a potential disastrous situation

[flanker]

It's unfortunate that as usual US politicians are more focused on using the crisis for political advantage than actually resolving the issue. I think Obama made a wise and necessary decision and prevented a potential disastrous situation

This is a civil war. The west as usual loves to intervene after they disarmed Ghadaffi (nuclear program) in exchange for aid.

Thats the reason why North Korea would never abandon their nukes as they don't have any deterrent if the US attacks.

[reptoid]

This is a civil war. The west as usual loves to intervene

If the West hadn't intervened on the Korean Peninsula back in 1950 there would be no Samsung, no Hyundai, Kia or LG today... in fact there would be no South Korea. If the West hadn't defeated Japan there would be no Republic of the Philippines.

It's easy to forget how costly freedom really is and who your friends are!

[masakiton]

It's easy to forget how costly freedom really is and who your friends are!

naay good friends... naa pud bad friends

[bungot25]

naa poy good motive ang UN, naa poy bad motive.. problem is we dont know what are there intentions!

[Eve's Apple Project]

pagdaghan kag kuntra, & dili progessive imo country(meaning dili maayo imo armed forces)...ani jud mahitabo.labi nag oil rich country. Gadaffi had it coming... paita, gira nalng jud ang pag-asa para mabag-o ang systema sa pamolitika didto...maayo untag masulbad na na, & di na magdugay parehas sa iraq.

[Visual C#]

Myth 1: the US is intervening in Libya because of its oil.
Fact: The US gets less than 1% of its oil from Libya. The Europeans however, have a bigger share of Libya's oil. Italy is the most reliant, with 24% of its oil coming from Libya. Next we have Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. In fact, the US has been quite eager to relieve themselves of their Libya duties, as they are currently involved in the quagmire building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US has been trying to transition the command of the no-fly zone to NATO (the Europeans mostly), especially the French and the British, who have been fairly vocal in their support of the no-fly zone.

Myth 2: A no-fly zone will eventually force Gadhafi to capitulate, the West will supply arms to Libyan rebels, and freedom and democracy for all of Libya will be ensured once he's been deposed, a la Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
Fact: The no-fly zone has not been very effective. In fact, the rebels have been losing key territory for the past few weeks. Here's the reality: the no-fly zone, while effective in neutralizing Gadhafi's air forces, are pretty ineffective against Gadhafi's ground troops. If you really want to depose Gadhafi, send in ground troops. But this isn't going to happen, as the Europeans have been pretty clear about not sending anyone, and so have the Libyan rebels themselves.

What about arming the rebels? Without proper training, command structure, and key cooperation between rebel groups (Libya is a tribal society at its core), weapons aren't going to help. In fact, weapons being introduced to these rebels is a very very bad idea. There have been rumors that some of the rebels have been infiltrated by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, and probably even Hamas and Hezbollah. With all the weapons they already stole from Libya's military arms caches, plus Western weapons (such as MANPADS), we are looking at a renewed wave of terrorist attacks.

[godwhacker]

Myth 1: the US is intervening in Libya because of its oil.
Fact: The US gets less than 1% of its oil from Libya.

America can buy oil anywhere else in the world. What is important is how you put your own companies in a land with enormous reserves of oil.

After the Iraq war, american and british companies in the the oil industry are getting the fat contracts. Who got rich after the Iraq war? Bechtel, Brown and Root, Halliburton etc., not to mention the Bushes who increased their wealth after the war. Other politicians too, got rich of course. The British also got a share of the pie.

Before the war, you will find lots of French oil companies in Exploration and Production (EP) operating in Iraq. This is of course of the reason deVillepen in his speech before the UN council was very clear that France will not participate. Without France, US and UK won the war. They shared the spoils and France was out of the big concessions. Ask people in the oil industry and they will tell you who are the EP companies operating now in Iraq? They are mostly US and British.

Now France wants to see to it that this time, their stakes in Libya would not follow the same experience it had in the Iraq war. America and of course the GB would just want to be in the right place at the right time. They had a problem of ousting Gaddafi several years back. Now is the golden opportunity.

[emow]

in times of war, countries such as US can disguise war profiteering as international aid.... billions of money are to be made... war costs paid by citizens and profits pocketed by a selected few...

[masakiton]

America can buy oil anywhere else in the world. What is important is how you put your own companies in a land with enormous reserves of oil.

kahinomdom ko atong isa ka documentary sa BBC ... after sa invasion of iraq.. ang mga oil related facilities ang pina ka safe daw nga lugar sa country kai daghan kaayo security nag bantay