TDPS: Mission Creep Happening in Libya...What's Next? TRANSCRIPT

[celtics23]

Run time: 04:59 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iupu-tcaqKc   Posted on YouTube: April 05, 2011 By YouTube Member: MidweekPolitics Views on YouTube: 324   Posted on DU: April 07, 2011 By DU Member: celtics23 Views on DU: 272

 
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I do want to warn our audience, you should be aware that there is mission creep underway in Libya. Great story from Alternet about this. Some people are calling it a bait and switch, as to what's going on in Libya right now.

The U.S. intervention in Libya was kind of sold to the American people as incredibly limited, right? We'd help inforce the no-fly zone. In his speech a few days ago, Barack Obama said, "Broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake." That's a quote. It could be a misquote, but it's a quote nonetheless.

And a day later, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican from South Carolina, he's a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, he says to CNN, "The goal of this country is to replace Gaddafi." Well, wait a second, I thought that it was a very focused enforce a no-fly zone only type of involvement. Now all of a sudden it's to replace Gaddafi?

And the same day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says to reporters, "Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to lead, so we believe he must go. We're working with the international community to try to achieve that outcome." Now, I know you will hear it and say well, just because we are diplomatically supporting that does not mean we are actually involved in mission creep in Libya.

I don't... I just don't believe it. I believe that the groundwork has been laid to increase involvement there. I don't believe that ground forces, ground troops in Libya are out of the question, we had a story last week about an Italian report to that end. And during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island actually asked Admiral James Stavridis about NATO putting forces into the, quote, "post-Gaddafi Libya" to make sure the country doesn't fall apart. And Stavridi said he wouldn't say NATO's considering it yet, but the possibility of a stabilization regime exists. Am I going overboard, Louis, or is there mission creep going on here?

Louis: Sounds like there could be. Wouldn't surprise me if we have special forces on the ground there already.

David: Well, the other argument people are making is that... the weapons thing, right, that the Obama administration has issued a covert finding authorizing the CIA to carry out an effort to provide arms in a clandestine way, so on and so forth. We know that that's happening already, that's no big news. We know that the U.S. has been encouraging Saudi Arabia, who buys a ton of weapons from the U.S., to pass them along to the anti-Gaddafi rebel force, whatever it's being called, depending what day what it's being called, in Libya. So that's... that's just not news.

Louis: I'd like to think the threat of U.S. or NATO ground troops is enough to make Gaddafi resign, quit.

David: No. He's said he will be...

Louis: I mean, that's what I'd like to think, but probably not going to happen. I mean, I could see... I could easily see us getting involved there with ground troops, but how's Obama going to handle it publicly?

David: Well... the longer... The longer the rebels take to defeat Gaddafi, the greater the chances we will see the ground forces deployed to Libya no matter what Obama says.

Louis: Of course.

David: And we know what will happen. I mean, come on, ladies and gentlemen, we've been living in this war is a line item state of mind economy for a long time now, and we know Obama will just come out and he'll say well, listen, circumstances have changed, we never could've predicted, even though we've been predicting it for weeks now, we never could've predicted that this would happen or that that would happen, and the only way now is to go in with troops. That's what will happen. And whatever you think about this particular intervention, this really speaks to why we should be wary of any intervention, whether or not you think it is justified in the capacity that it starts, because there's no guarantee of these rapid and bloodless conflicts that we hear so much about. And as always, we don't know what will follow if we are even successful in getting Gaddafi out.

Louis: Yeah. Who do you put in power? Who's to say it won't just fall into chaos like Iraq did?

David: We had this discussion with Egypt, we have it constantly, and I don't know. I just, at this point I just would not be at all surprised if the U.S. ends up with ground troops there. In fact, I would be surprised if it doesn't happen, to be honest, at this point.

Let's take a break. Make sure to like our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/DavidPakmanShow. Louis doing a lot of posting up there, videos from his band's recent heavy metal performance, it's all getting crazy on Facebook. Jesse Ventura is next. Stay tuned. www.DavidPakman.com.

Announcer: The David Pakman Show at www.DavidPakman.com.



Transcript provided by Alex Wickersham and www.Subscriptorium.com. For transcripts, translations, captions, and subtitles, or for more information, visit www.Subscriptorium.com, or contact Alex at [e-mail].