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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 1518 Views
Quite. - 20/03/2011 04:41:39 PM 711 Views
The Arab league guy has gone out saying he was misquoted. - 20/03/2011 05:26:21 PM 762 Views
... completely surprising absolutely no one. *NM* - 20/03/2011 05:28:20 PM 280 Views
China and Russian abstained instead of voting No, which is odd. - 20/03/2011 05:32:02 PM 698 Views
I think we should just ignore anything Russia and China says about human rights.. - 20/03/2011 10:15:59 PM 671 Views
Re: I think we should just ignore anything Russia and China says about human rights.. - 20/03/2011 11:12:11 PM 768 Views
exactly - 21/03/2011 12:13:28 AM 656 Views
Re: So within 24 hours of the 1st UN mandated action in Libya... - 20/03/2011 05:31:48 PM 852 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 762 Views
And - 20/03/2011 05:52:59 PM 733 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 979 Views
That is a big miscalculation. - 20/03/2011 06:10:34 PM 826 Views
Not really - 20/03/2011 06:23:52 PM 859 Views
Agreed. Waiting wasn't an option. *NM* - 20/03/2011 06:46:39 PM 271 Views
I dunno. - 20/03/2011 06:59:18 PM 835 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 709 Views
The impression I got - 21/03/2011 04:14:57 PM 824 Views
to much diplomacy and not enough action - 21/03/2011 04:56:45 PM 741 Views
It is us vs. them. - 20/03/2011 10:30:50 PM 902 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 828 Views
We have had weeks to act - 20/03/2011 11:15:15 PM 830 Views
Because when you get involved in what is, unfortunately, an internal matter, - 20/03/2011 11:18:16 PM 727 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 746 Views
I have to ask: - 21/03/2011 03:13:31 AM 901 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 865 Views
Imo, it's not about "gratitude." - 21/03/2011 04:05:41 PM 765 Views
I actaully like NPR and listen to them on a regular basis - 21/03/2011 04:44:42 PM 783 Views
Well, that has all shit to do with Qatari participation. - 21/03/2011 03:02:19 AM 714 Views
Not so. - 21/03/2011 08:54:31 AM 829 Views
Bullshit. - 21/03/2011 01:37:32 PM 961 Views
Well. - 21/03/2011 06:58:19 PM 744 Views
That's odd. I'm not seeing any of this criticism. - 21/03/2011 10:55:27 PM 730 Views
There's been plenty on Twitter. - 22/03/2011 08:29:48 AM 900 Views
So let me get this straight: - 22/03/2011 06:48:53 PM 816 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 674 Views
Is the Qatar involvement as important as the Kuwaiti involvement in the Iraq War? - 22/03/2011 06:57:27 PM 1155 Views
Kuwait was involved in the Iraq War? *NM* - 22/03/2011 08:35:21 PM 267 Views
They were part of the famous Coalition of the Willing *NM* - 22/03/2011 08:47:55 PM 278 Views
We got our authorization. - 20/03/2011 10:25:10 PM 889 Views
I don't see a situation where this does not turn into a land war. - 20/03/2011 10:51:41 PM 791 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 780 Views
Yeah, that's what I meant. - 21/03/2011 12:48:57 AM 717 Views
I doubt it would take US ground troops. - 21/03/2011 03:16:24 AM 691 Views
Fuck that - 21/03/2011 12:47:54 AM 751 Views
you are always have been a fence sitter - 21/03/2011 01:09:59 AM 719 Views
Fuck Gadhafi. - 21/03/2011 05:21:29 AM 656 Views
how full of yourself are you? - 21/03/2011 12:37:47 PM 817 Views
They're not my people. - 21/03/2011 02:22:46 PM 793 Views
Wha? - 21/03/2011 03:55:51 PM 823 Views
Nope. - 21/03/2011 04:21:21 PM 811 Views
Ok. - 21/03/2011 04:30:44 PM 747 Views
Do something, get whined at. Do nothing and you get Rwanda. - 21/03/2011 11:19:38 AM 910 Views
I completely agree. *NM* - 21/03/2011 11:04:34 PM 214 Views
I would reply... - 21/03/2011 11:22:14 PM 647 Views
It is only natural that the girl preferred me to you, but....... - 21/03/2011 11:36:33 PM 787 Views
- 21/03/2011 11:38:49 PM 593 Views
Don't me!! - 21/03/2011 11:50:07 PM 725 Views

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