Why Can't We Stop Muammar Gaddafi?

If Libya is really causing oil prices to rise, why are we not doing something about it? All of the Sunday Morning talk shows are abuzz with people talking of how an increase in the price of oil could hurt our chances of recovery, as if we didn't know. If Libya is indeed the cause of high prices (as Obama suggests) why is Washington sitting on it's hands? Does anyone really think that UN sanctions are going to effect Gadaffi?

Perhaps it's our Secretary of Defense Robert Gates projecting American weakness? Robert Gates warned against a no-fly zone.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the House of Commons Monday that "we are working closely with partners on a contingency basis on elements of a resolution on a no-fly zone, making clear the need for regional support, a clear trigger for such a resolution and an appropriate legal basis."

But U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned last week that imposing a no-fly zone would amount to an act of war because "a no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya" to destroy its air defenses. He also cautioned that an attack on Libya could drag the U.S. military into another conflict, even as nearly 150,000 troops continue to battle in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So, are we waiting on the UN and the Europeans to act? The British seem worried by the lack of a UN resolution. I suppose the British want to avoid looking "Imperial". Opps the British pretty much ruled the world at one point. Come on...

It would be no different if the US were to act alone. Could anyone really mount a good argument that acting in this situation would be a bad idea? I mean really, no silly "World Court" stuff, I mean morally. It's Muammar Gaddafi we're talking about here and he's ordering the killing of his own people by air strikes!

Are we (the US) so morally defunct that we can't make a good claim for ousting Muammar Gaddafi? The rebels that we are "backing" apparently have the moral authority to try and oust Gaddafi. Think about that for a minute.

Does this mean that any US interests overseas could really be on their own? We really shouldn't be getting in their business right? Remember, Gates said as much.

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