Trouble wrote: I'll give you that...it was a nice ferry. I was asked what I thought would have been a better evacuation for Americans. My response that I thougth it was ridiculous that a "busy airport" forced our military to use a ferry.
Just because they are in a civil war there does not mean we can just go in, land our planes and load our people up and take off. GET REAL. We have no agreements with Libya for much of anything. It amazes me how when things in foreign countries people think(without knowing) we can just walk in there and do what we want. NOT.
As for the Navy/Marine Corps, the request must come from the State Dept to the Dept of Defense. It is not automatic. If the State Dept request military assistance then the President must approve it. Did not happen. No Request came down from the State Dept.
Another fact you are missing, we have US NAVAL WARSHIPS deployed to the Mediterreain Sea 365 days of the year. There is also included in that a Carrier. It is called a battle group. We also have some aircraft at the Naval Air Facility in two different locations and we also have United States Air Force bases in the Med also. All are within striking distance.
petty squabbles aside, I was pretty impressed with how the State Dept handled this, it isn't a cake walk getting citizens out of a country on the brink of civil war. From some of the interviews i have seen on TV with the people on the ferry.....they were pretty happy campers to have gotten out safely, I didn't hear any complaints.
archer wrote: petty squabbles aside, I was pretty impressed with how the State Dept handled this, it isn't a cake walk getting citizens out of a country on the brink of civil war. From some of the interviews i have seen on TV with the people on the ferry.....they were pretty happy campers to have gotten out safely, I didn't hear any complaints.
That ferry was quite a fancy thing. I do not know if we got all our folks out, but I do like what kresspin stated about those being in a country known to be problematic.
As I understood it, they were mostly State Department employees. I don't think they have a lot of choice as to where they are sent. I do see a problem with us, as a nation, having formal relations with a mad hatter like Gaddafi.
