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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 1431 Views
Quite. - 20/03/2011 04:41:39 PM 620 Views
The Arab league guy has gone out saying he was misquoted. - 20/03/2011 05:26:21 PM 674 Views
... completely surprising absolutely no one. *NM* - 20/03/2011 05:28:20 PM 244 Views
China and Russian abstained instead of voting No, which is odd. - 20/03/2011 05:32:02 PM 606 Views
I think we should just ignore anything Russia and China says about human rights.. - 20/03/2011 10:15:59 PM 574 Views
Re: I think we should just ignore anything Russia and China says about human rights.. - 20/03/2011 11:12:11 PM 669 Views
exactly - 21/03/2011 12:13:28 AM 565 Views
Re: So within 24 hours of the 1st UN mandated action in Libya... - 20/03/2011 05:31:48 PM 762 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 668 Views
And - 20/03/2011 05:52:59 PM 641 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 884 Views
That is a big miscalculation. - 20/03/2011 06:10:34 PM 731 Views
Not really - 20/03/2011 06:23:52 PM 770 Views
Agreed. Waiting wasn't an option. *NM* - 20/03/2011 06:46:39 PM 232 Views
I dunno. - 20/03/2011 06:59:18 PM 748 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 625 Views
The impression I got - 21/03/2011 04:14:57 PM 718 Views
to much diplomacy and not enough action - 21/03/2011 04:56:45 PM 645 Views
It is us vs. them. - 20/03/2011 10:30:50 PM 806 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 733 Views
We have had weeks to act - 20/03/2011 11:15:15 PM 737 Views
Because when you get involved in what is, unfortunately, an internal matter, - 20/03/2011 11:18:16 PM 635 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 640 Views
I have to ask: - 21/03/2011 03:13:31 AM 809 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 771 Views
Imo, it's not about "gratitude." - 21/03/2011 04:05:41 PM 678 Views
I actaully like NPR and listen to them on a regular basis - 21/03/2011 04:44:42 PM 688 Views
Well, that has all shit to do with Qatari participation. - 21/03/2011 03:02:19 AM 626 Views
Not so. - 21/03/2011 08:54:31 AM 733 Views
Bullshit. - 21/03/2011 01:37:32 PM 869 Views
Well. - 21/03/2011 06:58:19 PM 655 Views
That's odd. I'm not seeing any of this criticism. - 21/03/2011 10:55:27 PM 646 Views
There's been plenty on Twitter. - 22/03/2011 08:29:48 AM 814 Views
So let me get this straight: - 22/03/2011 06:48:53 PM 722 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 585 Views
Is the Qatar involvement as important as the Kuwaiti involvement in the Iraq War? - 22/03/2011 06:57:27 PM 1060 Views
Kuwait was involved in the Iraq War? *NM* - 22/03/2011 08:35:21 PM 231 Views
They were part of the famous Coalition of the Willing *NM* - 22/03/2011 08:47:55 PM 239 Views
We got our authorization. - 20/03/2011 10:25:10 PM 794 Views
I don't see a situation where this does not turn into a land war. - 20/03/2011 10:51:41 PM 702 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 695 Views
Yeah, that's what I meant. - 21/03/2011 12:48:57 AM 621 Views
I doubt it would take US ground troops. - 21/03/2011 03:16:24 AM 599 Views
Fuck that - 21/03/2011 12:47:54 AM 657 Views
you are always have been a fence sitter - 21/03/2011 01:09:59 AM 623 Views
Fuck Gadhafi. - 21/03/2011 05:21:29 AM 565 Views
how full of yourself are you? - 21/03/2011 12:37:47 PM 712 Views
They're not my people. - 21/03/2011 02:22:46 PM 692 Views
Wha? - 21/03/2011 03:55:51 PM 734 Views
Nope. - 21/03/2011 04:21:21 PM 724 Views
Ok. - 21/03/2011 04:30:44 PM 656 Views
Do something, get whined at. Do nothing and you get Rwanda. - 21/03/2011 11:19:38 AM 815 Views
I completely agree. *NM* - 21/03/2011 11:04:34 PM 179 Views
I would reply... - 21/03/2011 11:22:14 PM 550 Views
It is only natural that the girl preferred me to you, but....... - 21/03/2011 11:36:33 PM 694 Views
- 21/03/2011 11:38:49 PM 504 Views
Don't me!! - 21/03/2011 11:50:07 PM 633 Views

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