I don’t get it-no news at all for weeks-are we at war or not?
Ghadafi seems to be hanging in there-what is the concensus about our latest military adventure?
What is Obama calling it now-is it still a KMA?
Basically it’s at something of a stalemate, which has been the case for the last few weeks. The rebels are armed and organized well enough to defend towns and cities. NATO is still launching airstrikes and has damaged Ghadafi’s forces enough to prevent them from launching new large-scale attacks. The rebels are staying put at NATO’s request so that they can launch airstrikes without worrying about hitting “friendly” forces. The city of Misrata is under siege, with Ghadafi’s forces unable to enter the city but plenty able to continuously bombard the city with rockets and artillery. Its port is open, allowing civilians to flee, and rebel fighters and supplies to enter. There have been a few naval skirmishes after Ghadafi’s navy attempted to mine the harbor.
In terms of US involvement, there hasn’t been much publicity. Last month the US military stated that there will be UAV patrols and airstrikes to keep a constant presence in the sky. Most of the airstrikes, though, are from other NATO airforces. Those airstrikes are mostly destroying ammunition depots and command centers away from the front – they’re not within camera shot of journalists so they don’t make front page news.
ETA: Wiki has a lot of information, including timelines.
Things are changing, slowly, in favor of the Rebels. Miserata is free, and the rebels are pushing towards Ziltan. The first trained troops will be hitting the frontlines shortly.
Politically, things will probably start happening in Congress soon. Barack Obama never got permission from Congress to start bombing Libya-- that may or may not be legal, since the War Powers Act allows Presidents to use military force without consulting Congress for a period of ninety days, though legal scholars disagree on how great a threat to the country is necessary to allow it. (Actually, they also disagree on whether the War Powers Resolution is constitutional at all, because it may constitute Congress simply passing a law to constrain the President’s power, something that normally requires a Constitutional Amendment.) In any case, expect Obama to either stop bombing Libya or request Congressional authorization soon.
I was reading something last week with Senator McCain saying that there hasn’t been any movement in Congress one way or the other on authorization. He said that he had a resolution co-written with Senator Kerry ready to go and expected it to get 80+ votes but right now no one seems interested in defunding the operation or rattling the War Powers cage. McCain also said he feels the Act is unconstitutional.
I’ve been checking Al-Jazeera nightly for the updates and it seems like (as said) a stalemate for now with maybe slight progress for the rebels. The rebels don’t have the training or equipment to face the Ghadafi forces in the open but the Ghadafi army loses equipment to NATO strikes when they come into the open. The other day, the rebels launched an “attack” outside Miserata and, when Ghadafi forces counterattacked, the rebels retreated back and pulled the Ghadafi equipment out where they were pummeled by NATO air power. Probably the most sophisticated thing I’ve seen the rebels do yet. On the other hand, Ghadafi forces have taken to using pick-ups and light trucks with mounted machine guns, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns which blend in with what the rebels have been using and make it hard to target from the air.