Nato today announced it was ending its bombing campaign which helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
Officials said all operations for the air and sea campaign will conclude at midnight on Monday, as the strikes were described as ‘one of the most successful’ operations in the history of the 62-year-old alliance.
Nato stopped its bombing missions soon after Gaddafi’s death earlier this month, but has maintained regular air patrols.
The flag of Al Qaeda has been spotted flying over the courthouse in Benghazi, while rebels in Libya are said to have imposed Sharia law since seizing power.
The Economist had an article this week saying as the Arab dictators get thrown out, the West is losing influence in the Middle East. Power to the people might be the worst thing to happen to the US. Islam is very popular.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
SS109 wrote: The Economist had an article this week saying as the Arab dictators get thrown out, the West is losing influence in the Middle East. Power to the people might be the worst thing to happen to the US. Islam is very popular.
Well... that's a revelation. Islam is very popular. Last count I could find was 1.57 billion people are Muslim. Now... lets see, these people, in a number of nations around the middle east have decided to overthrow the dictators that were running the countries and in the aftermath, it appears that most of these nations have decided to gravitate toward a society that's governed by Islamic principals, some of these nations are even (or already have) considered living totally under a theocratic Sharia government. When you say "the West is losing influence in the Middle East. Power to the people might be the worst thing to happen to the US."... what are you suggesting? I don't think this is a matter of what WE want. It seems that in general, this is what these people want. So... let them have it. Are you suggesting that we should somehow stop them? Freedom of religion works for you as long as it's one of your Officially Approved Religions?
No, I am not suggesting that people shouldn't have democracy, I am just warning that the West is losing influence. Harder to sway an entire nation than bribe dictators with cash and military hardware. I do hope to see a better disbursement of their petrol wealth, more like Alaska and Norway than Kadaffy Libya and Nigeria.
And while Christianity continues to lose its base in the West, especially Europe, Islam is gaining in both population, influence & intolerance. And with the anti-Coptic riots in Egypt and the anti-Christianity drives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, will we soon see a pre-Holocaust Christian scenario with mass immigrations to more tolerant nations?
Might be smart for Israel to encourage Christian immigration.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
SS109 wrote: No, I am not suggesting that people shouldn't have democracy, I am just warning that the West is losing influence. Harder to sway an entire nation than bribe dictators with cash and military hardware. I do hope to see a better disbursement of their petrol wealth, more like Alaska and Norway than Kadaffy Libya and Nigeria.
And while Christianity continues to lose its base in the West, especially Europe, Islam is gaining in both population, influence & intolerance. And with the anti-Coptic riots in Egypt and the anti-Christianity drives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, will we soon see a pre-Holocaust Christian scenario with mass immigrations to more tolerant nations?
Might be smart for Israel to encourage Christian immigration.
Why should we worry about swaying an entire nation? Swaying in what way? To be more like us? They don't want to be more like us, isn't that evident by now? How much clearer do they have to make it to the west. Leave them alone. If they want to act like barbarians, that's their countries. If they put their asses into our business and try another 9/11 sort of stunt, then we wipe them off the face of the planet. Otherwise, let them rot in their own cesspools.
Do they not want to be like us? The ones I know in the states do want to be like us. We might have lost a lot of influence politically but it sure seems commercially America still sells. And I like to be able to continue to export to those nations. Everyone drools over China's billions of consumers but China's population growth has fallen below replenishment rates while Africa and the Middle East still expand.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
SS109 wrote: Do they not want to be like us? The ones I know in the states do want to be like us. We might have lost a lot of influence politically but it sure seems commercially America still sells. And I like to be able to continue to export to those nations. Everyone drools over China's billions of consumers but China's population growth has fallen below replenishment rates while Africa and the Middle East still expand.
They want to be more like us? Then they need to get rid of their medieval mentality, get rid of their high priests of terror and start acting like civilized people who care about human rights. In the meantime, there is no need for us to waste a single penny or give up a single life meddling in their business. Until they manage to get their sh** together... well... if they step out of their pigsty, then we slap them back to 3000bc.