This how things begin to go sour: Libya: Six injured as US team botches rescue of downed airmen
Putting boots on the ground for an occupation is pretty much the only thing explicitly prohibited by the UN resolution.
Fortunately the Libyans seem to be pretty forgiving.
But yeah, whichever American initiated shooting at friendly civilians really fucked up.
It’ll probably lead to refined ROE’s and a chewing out for whatever idiot authorized them to open fire. Unfortunately this is the fog of war, but hopefully we can fix things. There’s no real reason to think that we can’t.
Now, to be fair, bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Libya just doesn’t scan.
“Forgiveness” is likely the second thing to go down, after truth, in wars.
Really? Iraq? Afghanistan? Ring a bell? As for “no boots on the ground,” please, pull the other one – do you honestly think that whatever the UN resolution allows is going to stop the US/UK/France from field intelligence gathering operations? Where that leads nobody knows…
Like I said, I am torn over this one as it appears to be the right thing to do. Yet the actual implementation of the resolution in so far as command structure, objectives, limits, goals etc. seems to be all over the place depending on who you ask.
Looks like things are proceeding apace:
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With air supremacy established and Quadaffi’s air force neutralized, we’ll have a much easier time hunting and killing his armor columns. It’s a reasonably safe bet that we’ve already got special forces (probably from multiple nations, I can’t imagine we don’t have the SAS in there too) training the rebels in combat tactics and, much more likely than not, we are or will be supplying them with weaponry as well. Especially now that we can conduct air-drops of supplies with virtual impunity.
With any luck we’ll see Quadaffi’s head mounted on a spear somewhere within the year.
A pike, Finn. Heads go on pikes.
Yeesh, traditionalists.
Okay okay, Quadaffi’s head can go on a pike.
Supposedly, Metacomet’s head hung on a pike at the gate of Plymouth for at least 20 years after he lost King Philip’s War. (Metacomet being Philip for those of you not up on your 17th Century New England history). Today the name high schools after him.
Or on spikes. Some medieval city gates had permanent spikes along the ramparts for that purpose. I’m sure a nice spike could be installed on the ramparts of the Red Castle . . .
I’ve read (on this board somewhere) that in WWII the Tommies had a saying: “When the Germans fire, the British duck. When the British fire, the Germans duck. But when the Americans fire, everybody ducks.”
Are you still here? Gaddafi is paying people to help him. Surely you’d want to put his money where your mouth is. Seriously. Get thee to Tripoli and win one for the gipper.
If it had been Bad Guys running towards the pilot and the Marines hadn’t fired, they be in trouble, too.
Perhaps we should issue white hats to the Good Guys. 
Best-case scenario, if the rebels win this, they are going to have to kill a lot of Libyans – not just foreign mercenaries, but Libyan career soldiers, such as they are; in any case, fellowcountrymen – before they get to Tripoli. And, since the troop strength of the rebels themselves is mostly in civilian volunteers, a lot of them will die, too, before the mass of them get there. Once properly armed and drilled they can outnumber the government troops, but they can’t equal them man-for-man in combat ability, and winning with massed numbers has a butcher’s bill. The New Libya will be born with a very sad, bloody legacy, many grieving families, possibly some enduring tribal blood-feuds, if Libya is really as tribal as everyone says. Does anyone see any way that can be avoided, without leaving Gaddafi in power? I want that third option, Scotty!
Assassination.
I think there’s some hope that the regime will fall before the rebels push it — if enough of Qaddafi’s soldiers decide they can’t possibly win, everything will go a-tumblin’.
I think it’s the Ark of the Covenant.
Or him fleeing the country. There’s again rumors that he would search for ways to do that. I don’t put much faith in this, but who knows?
He strikes me as a bit too nutty to accurately predict how he’ll rabbit. But if offering him asylum (and lifetime house arrest) would end the situation with less loss of life, I’m all for it.