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I doubt it would take US ground troops. Tom Send a noteboard - 21/03/2011 03:16:24 AM
The country has a total population of 6 million. Almost all of this population lives in fairly large population centers along the coast, with wide stretches of uninhabited desert separating two narrow belts of cultivation, one in the west and one in the east. The primary cities of Libya have populations as follows:

In rebel hands:
Benghazi - 670,000
Areas west of Benghazi - 600,000
TOTAL: 1.27 million

In Qaddhafi hands:
Tripoli - 1 million
Sirte - 140,000
TOTAL: 1.14 million

Unclear:
Misrata - 550,000
Ajdabiya and environs - 170,000
Zawiya - 270,000
TOTAL: 1 million

Zawiya and Ajdabiya are in the unclear category because they rose up against Qaddhafi but there are now Qaddhafi troops there. Misrata is apparently fighting off a Qaddhafi attack.

There are almost certainly enough anti-Qaddhafi forces in Tripoli itself (like Tajura, the area that was out of his control as late as last week) that a rebel push on the capital would certainly see Qaddhafi's power crumble, assuming that his air assets and vehicles are destroyed. At most I would think close air support would be needed, or perhaps, in a few situations, some discreet helicopter-borne operations with a few special forces briefly on the ground and then out again before anyone really knows what happened. It's more like what we did in 2001 in Afghanistan in the beginning.

Either way, the insurgents have enough manpower that their troops supported by our logistics could wipe out what I assume are some very demoralized Qaddhafi troops. It sounds as though only the 30,000 or so special troops under the command of Qaddhafi's son have really done any fighting.
Political correctness is the pettiest form of casuistry.

ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius

Ummaka qinnassa nīk!

*MySmiley*
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So within 24 hours of the 1st UN mandated action in Libya... - 20/03/2011 04:38:25 PM 1615 Views
Quite. - 20/03/2011 04:41:39 PM 809 Views
The Arab league guy has gone out saying he was misquoted. - 20/03/2011 05:26:21 PM 856 Views
... completely surprising absolutely no one. *NM* - 20/03/2011 05:28:20 PM 321 Views
China and Russian abstained instead of voting No, which is odd. - 20/03/2011 05:32:02 PM 797 Views
I think we should just ignore anything Russia and China says about human rights.. - 20/03/2011 10:15:59 PM 771 Views
Re: I think we should just ignore anything Russia and China says about human rights.. - 20/03/2011 11:12:11 PM 875 Views
exactly - 21/03/2011 12:13:28 AM 755 Views
Re: So within 24 hours of the 1st UN mandated action in Libya... - 20/03/2011 05:31:48 PM 953 Views
Apparently Qatar is about to join the fray... it is rather crucial that the Arab world backs this. - 20/03/2011 05:50:14 PM 858 Views
And - 20/03/2011 05:52:59 PM 825 Views
There is a lot of politics going on in the Arab League, from what I've read - 20/03/2011 05:52:31 PM 1055 Views
That is a big miscalculation. - 20/03/2011 06:10:34 PM 929 Views
Not really - 20/03/2011 06:23:52 PM 947 Views
Agreed. Waiting wasn't an option. *NM* - 20/03/2011 06:46:39 PM 315 Views
I dunno. - 20/03/2011 06:59:18 PM 945 Views
But the people who are going to think that way are going to do it no matter what - 20/03/2011 10:13:36 PM 805 Views
The impression I got - 21/03/2011 04:14:57 PM 1005 Views
to much diplomacy and not enough action - 21/03/2011 04:56:45 PM 834 Views
It is us vs. them. - 20/03/2011 10:30:50 PM 992 Views
Seriously. I can't believe Snoop and Rebekah's comments. It's like we had weeks to act. - 20/03/2011 10:27:40 PM 926 Views
We have had weeks to act - 20/03/2011 11:15:15 PM 929 Views
Because when you get involved in what is, unfortunately, an internal matter, - 20/03/2011 11:18:16 PM 812 Views
Qatar is not part of Libya so it would still be outsiders interfering in an internal matter - 21/03/2011 12:25:30 AM 840 Views
I have to ask: - 21/03/2011 03:13:31 AM 1004 Views
I don't think the people in Libya give at rat's ass about what the king of Qatar wants - 21/03/2011 05:12:26 AM 964 Views
Imo, it's not about "gratitude." - 21/03/2011 04:05:41 PM 854 Views
I actaully like NPR and listen to them on a regular basis - 21/03/2011 04:44:42 PM 891 Views
Well, that has all shit to do with Qatari participation. - 21/03/2011 03:02:19 AM 813 Views
Not so. - 21/03/2011 08:54:31 AM 935 Views
Bullshit. - 21/03/2011 01:37:32 PM 1055 Views
Well. - 21/03/2011 06:58:19 PM 848 Views
That's odd. I'm not seeing any of this criticism. - 21/03/2011 10:55:27 PM 842 Views
There's been plenty on Twitter. - 22/03/2011 08:29:48 AM 1002 Views
So let me get this straight: - 22/03/2011 06:48:53 PM 912 Views
It's not about "legitimacy" so much as it is about, to use the ugly word, propaganda. - 21/03/2011 10:33:12 PM 771 Views
Is the Qatar involvement as important as the Kuwaiti involvement in the Iraq War? - 22/03/2011 06:57:27 PM 1277 Views
Kuwait was involved in the Iraq War? *NM* - 22/03/2011 08:35:21 PM 309 Views
They were part of the famous Coalition of the Willing *NM* - 22/03/2011 08:47:55 PM 320 Views
We got our authorization. - 20/03/2011 10:25:10 PM 1003 Views
I don't see a situation where this does not turn into a land war. - 20/03/2011 10:51:41 PM 885 Views
it is already is a land war if you ask the people on the ground doing the fighting for weeks - 21/03/2011 12:34:10 AM 876 Views
Yeah, that's what I meant. - 21/03/2011 12:48:57 AM 810 Views
I doubt it would take US ground troops. - 21/03/2011 03:16:24 AM 809 Views
Fuck that - 21/03/2011 12:47:54 AM 864 Views
you are always have been a fence sitter - 21/03/2011 01:09:59 AM 812 Views
Fuck Gadhafi. - 21/03/2011 05:21:29 AM 747 Views
how full of yourself are you? - 21/03/2011 12:37:47 PM 936 Views
They're not my people. - 21/03/2011 02:22:46 PM 881 Views
Wha? - 21/03/2011 03:55:51 PM 923 Views
Nope. - 21/03/2011 04:21:21 PM 911 Views
Ok. - 21/03/2011 04:30:44 PM 855 Views
Do something, get whined at. Do nothing and you get Rwanda. - 21/03/2011 11:19:38 AM 1003 Views
I completely agree. *NM* - 21/03/2011 11:04:34 PM 257 Views
I would reply... - 21/03/2011 11:22:14 PM 735 Views
It is only natural that the girl preferred me to you, but....... - 21/03/2011 11:36:33 PM 896 Views
- 21/03/2011 11:38:49 PM 703 Views
Don't me!! - 21/03/2011 11:50:07 PM 817 Views

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