04.13.11
Toady nations and rebel rabble unable to dislodge Moe
You may have wondered why I stopped updating Bombing Moe.
Well, when Uncle Sam wandered away from the fight because it was obvious people in pick-up trucks who jump up and down on tanks we just bombed don’t make much of a military, I — like anyone with sense — knew it was all over.
Little Tommy Atkins & the Flying Desert Rats weren’t going to get the job done. Neither was Sark. And the Flying Emirs of Qatar are just an assortment of high button bag and henchmen.
Today’s reiteration of the obvious:
After leading the first stage of the Libyan intervention, the US earlier this month withdrew its forces from offensive operations, ceding control to Nato and its Arab allies.
Britain, France and the rebels are increasingly frustrated that neither other Nato allies nor the Arab states are prepared to attack Gaddafi’s forces, insisting they will only help enforce a no-fly zone.
With Britain and France bearing the burden of the ground attack operation, there are fears that the allies lack the military force to shake the Libyan regime.
Mahmoud Shamman, a spokesman for the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, said the Nato had allowed Col Gaddafi to regain the initiative on the battlefield since it took over from the US.
“When the Americans were involved the mission was very active and it as more leaning toward protecting the civilians,” he said. “Nato is very slow responding to these attacks on the civilians. We’d like to see more work toward protecting the civilians.”
A French official suggested that the US should deploy its specialist ground-attack aircraft including A-10 Thunderbolt tankbusters and AC-130 Spectre gunships, assets that Britain and France lack.
Did they actually think that a bit of the ol’ shock and awe would work this time around?
You’ll have noticed the US news wandered off the topic, too. War? What war? Oh yeah, that one with the guys in pickup trucks getting shot up by Moe after the professionals lost interest.