HA HA! Fooled you again!

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

Never ever ever assume a large group of people aren't dumb enough to do something.  You will get caught with your pants down every time.

Point taken.

[Cain]

9) What happens if Gadaffi falls back and the rebels advance?  No-one seems to have thought this far ahead.  The Responsibility to Protect applies to all civilians, and from all armed parties.  If the rebels start killing civilian Gadaffi supporters, as they probably will do (lets not fool ourselves here, this is now an armed uprising, not Egypt), will we start bombing them?

Would they really be stupid enough to do this?

In their position, I would.  Its either that or suffer a decade plus of fighting pro-Gadaffi insurgents and their support networks.  And we cant even beat the damn Taliban, so expecting the West to come in and sort that out would be, uh, highly stupid.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Ahhhh crap.  More war.  Always more war.

"We infer 'peace' because there are brief intervals between wars."
- Jerry Pournelle

[Cain]

Ahhhh crap.  More war.  Always more war.

"We infer 'peace' because there are brief intervals between wars."
- Jerry Pournelle

Sounds not too dissimilar to Hans Morgenthau.  Or Carl Schmitt.  Or pretty much anyone in the Realist school.

Also, another point.

14) Gadaffi gave up his chemical weapons and fledgling nuclear program in 2003, when he was welcomed with open arms as an ally in The War on Terror.  Bet you he regrets that decision now.  Bet you everyone else has noticed the "coalition of the willing" is only willing to attack countries that lack WMDs (and lack decent anti-aircraft measures).  Bet you no-one else on a potential US shitlist, including several very authoritarian regimes with a penchant for attacking their own citizenry, are ever going to give up their WMD programs in this current climate.