Libyan rebels are now legitimate

If we only knew who they are, we could go even further and say whether they're better or worse than Qaddafi.

Do we know the Libyan rebels yet?

Remember after we started bombing Libya on the pretense of protecting the innocents, but then it was reported we didn't really know the rebels or their purposes? Have we figured it out yet? Perhaps we haven't heard a report from the Obama administration because it would read like this report -- http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/270293/al-qaeda-and-libyan-rebellion-john-rosenthal?page=3

From what I've read about Libya, I have no doubt that the French report is true, and that we will wind up creating a situation worse than the situation we were supposed to remedy. John McCain makes hyperbolic claims about the evil Qaddafi, yet he has to know what's in this French report. McCain can't possibly believe that we're helping freedom-fighters in Libya, and if Qaddafi can be killed democracy will bloom. So what is McCain's purpose here? What is the administration's purpose? We'll either have to occupy Libya for years, or it will degenerate into a hotbed of Islamic terrorist activity and cruel oppression over the small faction who want freedom -- perhaps even worse than the oppression of Qaddafi.

So Qaddafi is a murderous thug

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/updates-on-libyan-war-may-20/

Does that mean we become brutes and murderers through NATO? Do Americans know what's going on in Libya? Does anyone care? Are we going to allow one man to make military decisions for the whole  country? If so, we might as well surrender the remainer of our freedom, morals and self-respect now. Innocent people are being killed in Libya, by us through NATO, and no one seems to care.

So, what about Libya?

I searched for reporting on Libya today from the MSM, but the only thing I found was this WSJ blog -- http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/04/10/tony-blair-status-quo-in-libya-not-an-option/.

The dearth of news regarding Libya is truly amazing. From what I can tell Qaddafi has managed a stale-mate and is in no danger of defeat. Why are the media silent on Libya? Is it because it's not turning out like we predicted? Does anyone know what the plan is for the war in Libya? I read something the other day -- maybe it was the Huffington Post -- that experts are saying Qaddafi cannot be removed without ground forces.

This is really a strange development -- wall to wall coverage, then hardly any coverage at all. Have the American people forgotten that Obama started a war in Libya? It would be nice to know how it's going, and when we can get out it completely. Are CIA agents still on the ground? Is the US military performing any operations? Are we arming the rebels? Did the CIA ever figure out who the rebels are and what they want?

Morning Joe 4/1/2011 -- More Libya madness and the budget

On Morning Joe you could tell the gang is weary of talking about Libya. The best Mika could do was read part of a David Brooks article which defends Obama as being flexible and thoughtful and cautious. In reality Obama made a decision which has led to another costly war that the allies likely don't want to take over. France and Britain perhaps wanted something done to create stability in Libya, but they are not accustomed to leading in these situations, so America is stuck with figuring it out -- in the meanwhile, Qaddafi's routing the rebels. there's no time to train the rebels, and Qaddafi's strategy of blending his military into the population will allow the military to steadily terrorize the rebels. If America and the allies back away from protecting the rebels, the rebels will have to rely on some other group that knows what it's doing -- the closest group is al Qaeda. Some who act as if they know Libya say that the tribes will prevent al Qaeda influence, but I don't think anyone outside Libya really understands what's going on in Libya -- it's all a guessing game, and there's no precedent to work from. Like Tom Friedman said, we might get lucky, but that's a long shot. It appears right now that Qaddafi has the advantage of knowing the area and the people, and we have not planned this out, so the US will constantly react to Qaddafi with one hand, perhaps both hands, tied behind our backs.

As the gang wearily got past the Libya fiasco, the conversation turned to the budget. Ari Fleischer was on the show, and he says the Republicans are winning because they actually got to the point where real spending cuts are possible, but the new guys need to learn the art of compromise. Mika remains stubbornly sceptical that Republicans are going to address entitlements, but Joe and Ari assured her that the Republicans will release a dramatic budget next week. The question asked is whether Obama will work with the Republicans to tackle entitlements and spending, or will he join the Democrats in attacking the Republicans and framing them as extremists. My bet is the latter. The Democrats can't wait for the Republicans to put their budget out to the public so that they can tear into the Republicans for stealing granny's Medicare, Homer's SS and little baby Sparkle's free healthcare. It will be a test of the public whether they fall for the Democrat's political games, or whether they support the Republicans in addressing our critical financial situation.

Democrats don't have anything left except political games and promises of job creation through "investment" in infrastructure and green energy. Their make-work schemes are throwbacks to the 30s. It will be interesting.