Saturday - March 19, 2011

France Over Libya

French fighters jets soared over Libya on Saturday to counter Moammar Gadhafi’s military forces who were intent on destroying the opposition as they pushed into the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

“Our air force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gadhafi against the population of Benghazi,” said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking after an international, top-level meeting in Paris over the Libyan crisis.

“As of now, our aircraft are preventing planes from attacking the town,” he said. “As of now, our aircraft are prepared to intervene against tanks.”

The international show of force is much-welcomed by besieged rebel forces who have called for backup to help them stave off a government offensive against their positions in Benghazi and other rebel-held enclaves.

Latest developments:

* French jets have entered Libya’s airspace to prevent Muammar Gaddafi’s forces from attacking Benghazi, President Sarkozy has announced.

* Sarkozy’s statement to the press came after world leaders, including British PM David Cameron, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and various Arab leaders, met in Paris Saturday to hold crunch talks on the crisis in Libya.

* Reports emerged this morning of a fighter plane being shot down over Benghazi. Photos and video show the jet above the city falling through the sky in flames.

* Rebels in Benghazi say the government has been bombing roads and areas around the city. The regime has denied any involvement, saying its air force has remained grounded and the cease-fire is being upheld.

Obama “the leader of the free world”, made a speech yesterday in which he talked tough but essentially told the world “let somebody else do this.”

Asked whether the decision to carry out bombing against Libyan forces could begin immediately after Saturday’s session ends, a senior State Department official said: “In terms of when the bombing starts, I’ll leave that for others to lay out at the appropriate time.”

Such leadership.

Fearless Reader then got on his airplane and began yet another vacation embarked on a vital 5 day trade mission to South America with his family.

Obama departed Washington just hours after endorsing military action against Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, leaving an array of military might at the ready and raising the prospect that he would have to authorize military action from a foreign land.

For Obama, the visit represents a chance to engage with newly elected [ Brazilian ] President Dilma Rousseff and get a firsthand assessment of what administration officials believe is her practical approach to governance and foreign relations after eight years of the flamboyant Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
...
Obama arrives bearing no major policy gifts. And he’s not likely to deliver on two of Brazil’s top wishes—an endorsement for Brazil to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a relaxation of tariffs on Brazilian ethanol. The United States and Brazil are the world’s largest ethanol producers.

And after promising question and answer news conferences with these South American leaders, Obama’s first presser was no questions asked. Yeah, because that’s what Rouseff wanted, right.

Obama’s “press conference” with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was abruptly shrunken down to just statements from each leader and no questions from American and Brazilian reporters, though U.S. officials have been quick to point out that they wanted questions from the media but the Brazilian side blocked it.

Wonderful. Brazil abstained from the Un Security Council No-Fly vote, and has in the recent past been willing to engage in talks with Iran.

PRE-POSTING UPDATE: BATTLE IS JOINED In the time it took me to write this post, it looks like war has broken out in the skies over Libya. I was going to do a sidebar piece about the French flying their new Rafale fighter, which is their slightly smaller, less expensive version of the Eurofighter Typhoon, that has not yet been in any real combat ( a few bombing runs in Afghanistan is all ), but this takes precedence:

Allied Powers Declare Military Action Against Libya
PARIS—Top officials from the United States, Europe and the Arab world have launched immediate military action to protect civilians as Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi’s forces attacked the heart of the country’s rebel uprising.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after an emergency summit in Paris on Saturday that French warplanes are already targeting Qaddafi’s forces.

The 22 participants in Saturday’s summit “agreed to put in place all the means necessary, in particular military” to make Qaddafi respect a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday demanding a cease-fire, Sarkozy said.

“Our planes are blocking the air attacks on the city” of Benghazi, he said, without elaborating. French planes have been readying for an attack in recent days.
...
British Prime Minister David Cameron said after the summit: “The time for action has come, it needs to be urgent.”

Obama sambas, while Libya burns.

Posted by Drew458     on 03/19/2011 at 11:00 AM   
Filed Under: • FRANCE • Military • Obama, The One • Tyrants and Dictators • United-Nations •  
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