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Obama declares Gadhafi must leave Libya now

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"I will huff and puff, and blow your house down." Oh, Gadhafi is soooooo afraid of the big, bad wolf. What is Kan's position on this issue?

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The biggest libyan problem is oil. Poor guys.Egypt's biggest problem was a trade channel. West is bringing democracy! its so cool to have democracy: u r free to kill ppl saying they r terrorists, invade anywhere, plunder etc. So i suppose its good that democracy is comming to libya. And i hope that libyans will return all democracy shit to west.

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SolidariTea.

What has your post got to do with what I said. Seriously confused.

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IMO, it is only the americans that think everyone wants to have what they got and overlook their own shortcomings(in politics, education, etc).

It was not America who colonized North Africa. "Libya" was ruled by the Turks, then by the Italians(who killed tens of thousands of Libyans), then administered by the Brits.

But of course crazy old Khadaffee , when he needs to rally support, tries to tell the largely uneducated public that America wants to invade, America just wants our oil, all the stupid cliches they know Western leftists will dutifully parrot .

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Wrong, they don't rail against modernity or "America", they are fighting for a life-style that gives them enough food, work, etc and no oppression(ditto for egypt, etc).

When it comes down to the brass tacks all people(regardless of race, sex or greed) want the same.

A life that allows them to live in comfort without having to worry about job future, where the food comes from, good education for their kids,etc. Who runs the goverment is secondary as long as those items are guaranteed.

IMO, it is only the americans that think everyone wants to have what they got and overlook their own shortcomings(in politics, education, etc).

The fundamentals of what people want for a good, healthy and fulfilling life are universal and Not dictacted by form of goverment, religion, etc.

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Tribalism will decide who wins Libya. There is no hope for the rosy scenario ppl like MaxtheITpro envision, where Libya will be vangaurd of some populist N African revolt against their common imaginary oppressor, the Big Bad Yankee. These people rail against modernity, and for now that is associated with "America."

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*“May I just say, personally I don’t think it’s `loose talk’ on the part of the people on the ground in Libya or the Arab League or others, including the prime minister of England, that this option should be given the strongest consideration,” McCain said.

Endorsing McCain’s remarks, Sen Joe Lieberman, an independent, said another option was to provide U.S. air defense weapons to the Libyan rebels and to train them in their use.*

Oh my GOD!!! The utter HYPOCRISY in the US...and it's above board for EVERYONE to SEE!! Hello?? What about Bahrain with a huge MAJORITY of Shia and the Sunni Sheik using live bullets on the PEOPLE?? Where's the call to have 'free & fair elections' in Bahrain? Hillary & King Obama are QUIETR as a lamb. Oh, I get it! The 5th Fleet is stationed there to protect the oil so they'd prefer dealing with despots than the PEOPLE who would ultimately tell the fleet to get the Hell out.

Also, where was the call from the US bureaucrats for Zine bin Ali (Tunisia) & Mubarak to leave when things were getting out of hand?? If the US thinks no one's watching this double speak & TAKING NOTES, they are WRONG.

Even when Libya becomes FREE, they will NOT want to be close allies to the US anyways. Ditto for the NEW Egypt & Tunisia. This is simply because the people see the real political/business motives of US Middle East policies.

And where's Ocampo to threaten Bahrain's rulers on the possibility of going to he Hague if they keep using live ammo? This is why the West is gradually fading away and new BRIC powers ascend.

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Middle East affairs + U.S. involvement = OIL

Is this supposed to be proof of real deep thought by ppl who post such simplistic denunciations?

Yes, the mid East has oil, and it is valuable. They sell it freely. We buy it. In fact, they even have a cartel called OPEC - which could very accurately be called a monopoly, something the anti-capitalist Hate America crowd are usually quite vocally opposed to.

The US gets 80 percent of its oil from Canada.

I think we get between 9 and 14percent from "the Mid East", which is in fact fairly diverse. We deal with each nation differently, and I doubt that looking at history RATIONALLY nations like Kuwait or the UAE or Saudi or Libya feel "exploited" by the fact that the largest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind has been from the productive nations of the West to desert nations fortunate to be sitting atop oil.

If Obama really wanted to put economic pressure on the various dictators of the ME he and his Luddite party could open to drilling the vast untapped reserves we have in the US.

But he has anothe agenda.

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Gadhafi already makes it too clearly that he will stay and fight to the death...no need for any further warning from anyone, Obama's included.

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Moammar Gadhafi “step down from power and leave...

Or he'll do what? Empty threats are meaningless.

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"Zenga Zenga", if you don't know what it means, look it up. Bizarro world when a video seems to have more effect than the words of an American president, I mean is anybody still listening? Interesting times indeed.

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Superlib-do you know your history?the crimes the west has committed from slavery ,colonilazation to wars.Ghaddaffi has done less harm than what western leaders has done. Libya is not a western country ,leave them alone.

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Badsey-libya is not america and I have not met anyone who wants his/her country to take your route.we are not insane as your country men are. The arab league will be a fool to allow another western invasion and if there was a leader to be tried it should have been Bush.

Libya will solve its problems

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smithinjapan: Where is the proof of this?

Proof of what?

But then, WHY are some things so much more publicized than others?

Because some things are more sensational than others. If a car bomb goes off somewhere and kills 10 people it gets more coverage than if some drug gangster guns down 10 people. That's why terrorists use bombs. They know they will get worldwide coverage instantly.

Gadhafi has a history that everyone knows about. He's had skirmishes with the West. He blew up a plane. He's obviously on the brink of insanity. Thrown in planes bombing his own people and you get front page news. Oil is somewhere far down on the list, mostly talked about in practical terms (how can it affect us?) or brought up by conspiracy theorists.

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Middle East affairs + U.S. involvement = OIL

DUH, not that EUROPE or anybody else is not in the mix on that one.

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RT (Russia Today) has questioned the strafing of protestors by Gadhafi from satellite photos.

I am against the attacks against the people of Libya. Right now these people are huge targets since they are unarmed -If they were all gun owners this would not be happening.

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"Why is he only Col and not general?"

He likes the sound of "Col Gadhafi"?

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Middle East affairs + U.S. involvement = OIL

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I wrote the other day that Khadaffee was once a darling of the Left.Some people tried to claim otherwise. But Obama confirmed this by saying that the colonel has lost the legitimacy he had, something only a doctrinaire Leftist would say.

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Saving lives in Libya,is important for all,USA and World.

World is watching Libyans and their actions. Criticisms of Libya,for human rights and value of human lives ,is most proper.

Many conflicts,have been solved by criticisms of people/outside nations.This criticisms should not stop.

War and Killing,should be reduced in whichever nation it happens. Ceasefire/peace deals should be made, as soon as possible,to reduce loss of lives,wherever possible in LIBYA.

The Global systems to solve conflicts,should be improved on.

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Listen, the US can't afford another drawn out conflict/occupation. Stop playing 'Global Policeman' and leave it to the other middle east nations to sort out... Lets be honest, most Westerners would happily welcome other middle east nations getting involved to sort out their own regional conflicts.

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Wow - takes less than a week to...

convene a "Crimes against Humanity tribunal"...

revoke the diplomatic status of Gadhafi and his entire family / entourage...

Freeze all his assets in foreign countries ( USA first and foremost )...

meet and determine UN Security council resolutions against this oppression...

etcetera etc...,

BUT they still can't get together and do anything productive in regard to DPRK - even after the shell their neighbors ( killing civilians ) and torpedo a naval vessels ??????????

DON'T be telling me it's Not about the OIL...

I have no disillusions about Gadhafi being a Madman and that he must go but is this the same Obama who won the Nobel Peace Prize - All these threats and Sabre rattling seems to be just another page out Bush's playbook on Iraq...

IMO any concerted efforts on the part of the UN to try to strong-arm Gadhafi or use force will only result in HORRENDOUS civilian casualties - because when backed into a corner with NO WAY OUT this kook is capable of ANYTHING........ ANYTHING......

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President Barack Obama insisted Thursday that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi “step down from power and leave,” Well then, if he insists, he has no choise.

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let the Middle East jihad themselves.

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Stop intefering in peoples affairs and start fixing your economy and poverty.let the arab league ,african union and the libyans fix their problem. Or is it the noise of a dying horse trying to save its image?

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tkoind2-

The Libyan people must be free to choose their own form of government on their own. Whether we like their choice or not.

I agree

must not go to war in Libya and we should not arm either side.

I agree

I do agree with a threatened no-fly zone. I think if we start targeting Libyan aircraft the pilots will defect. I disagree. It's none of our business. Let them fight it out themselves.

I would like to remind the US government about a certain similar call to give "freedom fighters" struggling against a Soviet invasion the same kind of weapons. The Mujahadin would later give birth to Al Qaida who became friends with the Taliban and took out downtown NY.

Point taken: after we arm them, once their job is complete me must destroy them.

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I think that all of the revolt that's going on now in the Middle East and African countries is a conspiracy. This just can't be just spontaneous. The elite is trying to change the secular government of these countries to an Islamic one. Oil is definitely involved. They want to hike the price of crude oil to 200 dollars a barrel. It will be trouble for the USA if Bahrain is taken by an Islamic government. The US 5th Fleet will most likely get kicked out, since the 5th Fleet Headquarters is located in Bahrain. They are there to protect the Strait of Hormuz. Without USA protection, oil exports will slow down or completely stop causing a massive hike in price of crude oil.

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Obama is such an embarrassment...

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SuperLib: "Saddam killed exponentially more than his removal caused, but again you didn't see daily updates on how many people were killed in his torture chambers."

Where is the proof of this? hiding with the whereabouts of the WMDs? :)

I don't necessarily disagree with you on the media points, though. But then, WHY are some things so much more publicized than others? One reason for looking at Libya more than NK, for example, is undoubtedly that it's yet another domino in the nations with governments collapsing (and people rebelling/protesting) in the region. While I don't think it's solely about oil, that DOES play a part, though. Look at any nation's media about the issue and you undoubtedly find 'worries about how it will effect the local economy' and how the potential oil problems have pushed the price of crude up. So you can't say it has NOTHING to do with oil, because that's one of the reasons for the mass coverage to begin with.

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Since when did Gadhafi listen to Obama or anyone else for that matter, and the U.S. should stay right out of this it is entirely upto the people of libiya to sort this out one way or the other.

Remember this mad man was responsible for the lockerbie bombing and a few other extreme acts way back (maybe before your time) if the people dont have the balls, will, weapons or other to overthrow this mental case then tough for them, they can leave .

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Why is he only Col and not general?

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afroengineer: What a hypocrite!?How many leaders are killing their own people?But of course North Korea, Ivory Coast and so on don't have enough oil to mobilize warships.And yet some americans will complain that when the US do something people complain and when they don't people complain too.The problem is do the same with everyone or don't do anything for everyone.

The difference isn't oil, it's media coverage. If you want the #1 killer then you'd have to go with North Korea. Not necessarily through bombing their own people, but by running a corrupt economy that has caused the starvation of millions. But you don't see videos of people starving to death on the nightly news, so out of sight, out of mind. Saddam killed exponentially more than his removal caused, but again you didn't see daily updates on how many people were killed in his torture chambers. You do see daily updates on a bombing or a shooting so people are suddenly "shocked." More people have died in Mexico but again, mostly small gains every day. A bomb goes off in a market and kills 10 people and you get 10x the media coverage than 100 people being gunned down over a week in different locations in Mexico. My guess is the other countries in Africa have had more total deaths over the last two weeks than Libya but they're just not "sensational" enough to make the news.

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Libyan woes,solutions is the with Opposition parties and Gaddafi followers. They need to come together,for new elections like things,going on in Egypt. Gaddafi followers have to reduce their power,in new Libya,but not say they don't keep and expand their wealth for Libya.

Problem is in Libya,these new elections,can only come if all parties,put their weapons and bury the hatchet like in Egypt. Egytian are Egyptians and Libyan are Libyans,they have very different national history.

The Libyan Politics are complex as it can get. It involves Tribes,Libyan Tuaregs,libyan Opposition parties,pro-Gaddafi citizens, African Union Supporters ,Libyan word of mouth politics and many other factors which only Libyans will know.

Libyan is 17th biggest nation in world,there can a lot different ways of politics,for all regions of Libya.

Gaddafi regime,also could be not control every part of his regime,which has many tribal customs,where tribal people stick to their customs. Tribal people have been looked down,by Tripoli Govt,due to their ancient ways.

Seem situations may be similar to tribes of Pakistan. Libyans in history has fought wars with Chad,over border territories,which Chad Won. Libyan also fought war with Egypt,with Egyptians making peace,by asking gaddafi not to influence the Tribes at the Borders.

Libyans has also fought in minor clashes with USA airforce,where they lost 4 jets. Gaddafi's Libyan Homes,has bombed by US aircrafts during Reagan era.

Libya's under gadhafi very pro -palestine ways/pro-african ways in its policies.

There is no simple solution for Libya,it a long winding road to peace,which may takes years or months negotiations,it depends of the parties involved in the conflict.

Looks like West,African Nations,Egypt,Tunisia,Italy,Libyan Tribes,Gadhafi supporters,opposition supporters and are all involved in making Libya2011.

USA Navy/Airforce ,EU army personals, Venezuela ,Global foreign workers,Italian Oil Companies and Global Mass Media also involved in Libya in Big way.

Hope Libya can rise up,from the destruction to New Better Libya,by everyone playing their part in a highly responsible way.

The question,how responsible is everyone, in playing their part in preventing more loss of lives?

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A the first I thought Gadhafi's son was a bit more sensible, what with not robes of this to hats & such, along with English words. I was 100% wrong for he is all out to save the Gadhafi family & himself---even worse when it comes to those rebelling.

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obama's comment is only for the american political scene. hopefully, it's just talk & he'll let libya sort out their own mess.

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"Sen Joe Lieberman, an independent, said another option was to provide U.S. air defense weapons to the Libyan rebels and to train them in their use."

I would like to remind the US government about a certain similar call to give "freedom fighters" struggling against a Soviet invasion the same kind of weapons. The Mujahadin would later give birth to Al Qaida who became friends with the Taliban and took out downtown NY.

My point is that any action we take in Libya may well have unforseen blowback. Things to consider.

The Libyan people must be free to choose their own form of government on their own. Whether we like their choice or not.

We must not go to war in Libya and we should not arm either side.

I do agree with a threatened no-fly zone. I think if we start targeting Libyan aircraft the pilots will defect.

But other than that, I think any intervention other than humanitarian has too many unforseen consequences.

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The problem is do the same with everyone or don't do anything for everyone." I'd prefer not doing anything for anyone. But we have gone into West Africa a couple of times just fyi..

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What a hypocrite!?How many leaders are killing their own people?But of course North Korea, Ivory Coast and so on don't have enough oil to mobilize warships.And yet some americans will complain that when the US do something people complain and when they don't people complain too.The problem is do the same with everyone or don't do anything for everyone.

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Carriers are probably on the way. Bye Gadhafi, it was not nice knowing you.

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That's why I posted about Chavez offering to help.

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Here we go again. When is the US going to learn to stay out and wait until the dust settles and then deal with who is left standing? Let the Libyans sort out their internal struggles or if their Arab neighbors want to do something about it, let them instead of the US being the worlds cop.

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Yeah, but now Chavez has offered to mediate in the matter. Obama will need to thread lightly.

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That's it, then. Gadhafi is out of there!

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Oh gee ! The world bows to Obama, no doubt!

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