Article

2011-03-29 Africa North

U.S. General to Libyan Rebels: Slow Down or Be Destroyed

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Posted by gorb 2011-03-29 10:55|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top

#1 Actually pretty good advice. The rebels are a bunch of guys waving guns and going frontal envelopments until they overrun the Qadaffy forces or scare them off. The Qadaffy forces are minimally trained troops but they're still soldiers of a sort, which means that if the mob of rebels happens to run into an actual disciplined unit they're gonna get beat up.

The other point I'm guessing the general is making is that bullets and beans (or couscous) don't rain down from heaven. They probably have supply lines of a sort and outrunning them will increase their chances of getting beat up.

Posted by Fred 2011-03-29 11:41|| 2011-03-29 11:41|| Front Page Top

#2 One thought is that the rebels aren't fighting in a hostile environment. They could probably ask for beans just about anywhere and get it, including lodging. I don't know about bullets, though. It would depend on how big the caches were that are already around, assuming there are enough sympathetic locals along the way to point them out.

Posted by gorb 2011-03-29 11:59|| 2011-03-29 11:59|| Front Page Top

#3 Ahhhh, what does he know. Oh, wait...

Libyan rebels retreating after Gadhafi onslaught

RAS LANOUF, Libya Libyan government tanks and rockets pounded rebel forces into a panicked full retreat Tuesday after an hourslong, back-and-forth battle that highlighted the superior might of Moammar Gadhafi's forces, even hobbled by international airstrikes.Rockets and tank fire sent Libya's rebels in a panicked scramble away from the front lines. The opposition was able to bring up truck-mounted rocket launchers of their own and return fire, but they went into full retreat after government shelling resumed.

Posted by tu3031 2011-03-29 12:00|| 2011-03-29 12:00|| Front Page Top

#4 The AFRICOM Commander telegraphing tactical control measures via the open media may indicate he has ineffective communications with rebel forces, or none at all.

Posted by Besoeker 2011-03-29 12:09|| 2011-03-29 12:09|| Front Page Top

#5 Speaking of which, since we are playing siege, wonder what Team Daffy has stored away.

Posted by swksvolFF 2011-03-29 12:13|| 2011-03-29 12:13|| Front Page Top

#6 Where is the Desert Fox when you need him?

Posted by Capsu78 2011-03-29 12:20|| 2011-03-29 12:20|| Front Page Top

#7 A very, very dangerous undertaking. Kinetic fraticide in uncontrolled situations like this is inevitable. I suspect this is what General Ham is attempting to prevent. But come to think about it, the term fraticide really isn't applicable.

Posted by Besoeker 2011-03-29 12:25|| 2011-03-29 12:25|| Front Page Top

#8 Sounds as if we're attempting to use these guys without having any of our people there to act as forward air controllers or whatever the equivalent is, so not too many of our people are exposed to who these rebels really are.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-03-29 12:31|| 2011-03-29 12:31|| Front Page Top

#9 The rebels not only need to slow down but also to stay out of pro Qaddafi areas (there are some, presumably including Sirte, Qaddafi's home town).

The reason is that, assuming we refuse to bomb pro Qaddafi areas, those areas are kill zones for the rebels.

Of course if the rebels stay out of pro Qaddafi areas, we are ultimately looking at a partition of Libya into pro and anti Qaddafi parts.

Posted by Lord Garth 2011-03-29 12:35|| 2011-03-29 12:35|| Front Page Top

#10 Precisely! High flying platforms are most likely making the targeting calls vs boots on the ground and eyes-on-target. The manuever space between blue force/red force becomes very critical. If Gadaffy was smart, he'd park those T-72's (A-10 magnets), and Russian trucks next to schools and hospitals, dismount, and conduct company size deep penetrations and narrow, surgical sweeps into the rebel held areas.

Posted by Besoeker 2011-03-29 12:43|| 2011-03-29 12:43|| Front Page Top

#11 What the general meant to say was that he and the rest of 'cavalry' don't know what specific direction they're going to get out of the clown circus on Pennsylvania Avenue at any time. Without experienced adults in charge, that means things are a bit flaky as to what you can count on [other than the underside of the bus].

Posted by Procopius2k 2011-03-29 12:47|| 2011-03-29 12:47|| Front Page Top

#12 Neutral. Of course.

Posted by Jack Thuter4002 2011-03-29 12:50|| 2011-03-29 12:50|| Front Page Top

#13 AFRICOM has been looking for a place to hang their hats and a valid mission since it's inception. Unfortuately this exercise in futility will produce neither. When the first "baby milk" factory or elementry school disappears in a firey vapor, look for the targeting officers aboard the vectoring aircraft to be tossed under the bus along with half of the AFRICOM Air Staff.

Posted by Besoeker 2011-03-29 12:57|| 2011-03-29 12:57|| Front Page Top

#14 This story was dated yesterday. Today reports are coming out that the rebels are high tailing it out of Sirte.

Posted by Jack Thuter4002 2011-03-29 12:59|| 2011-03-29 12:59|| Front Page Top

#15 Bay of Pigs 2.0

Then brought to you by America's most overrated president.

Now brought to you by Americas most incompetent president... ever

(Sorry Jimmy Carter, even you come in second)

Posted by European Conservative 2011-03-29 16:46|| 2011-03-29 16:46|| Front Page Top

#16 (Sorry Jimmy Carter, even you come in second)

I'd list jimmuh as third worst. LBJ was the worst. Bummer would be second but he's trying hard to measure up to old Lyndon. You might argue that at least LBJ was not incompetent, just evil. OK. I'll give you that.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2011-03-29 18:16|| 2011-03-29 18:16|| Front Page Top

#17 FDR worst. So many of Americas problems stem from him.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2011-03-29 22:18|| 2011-03-29 22:18|| Front Page Top

#18 Bay of Pigs 2.0

Worse. The Cubans at least had a semblance of military training. The Libyan rebel forces are not only mostly untrained, they don't trust what military leadership (and regular military units) that has defected to their side; the regular military units are staying back, not wanting to get killed because of the amateurs.

I guess the only bright spot is that the Obama administration isn't just promising the Libyans air support, only to abandon them at a crucial time. They'll abandon the French and the Italians too.

Posted by Pappy 2011-03-29 22:42|| 2011-03-29 22:42|| Front Page Top

#19 This is like the Arab Revolt of 1916 before 'Lawrence of Arabia' effectively took it over. The tactics the 'Opposition' are using are a carbon copy of Fisals Army, before it was whacked at Medina.

Posted by Bill Griling5080 2011-03-29 23:59|| 2011-03-29 23:59|| Front Page Top

23:59 Bill Griling5080
23:19 USN,Ret
23:10 Fi
23:01 Water Modem
23:00 Water Modem
22:42 Pappy
22:34 Phuting and Company7064
22:28 Zhang Fei
22:18 Bright Pebbles
22:03 Phuting and Company7064
21:28 Barbara Skolaut
21:26 European Conservative
21:14 Menhadden Whaish8836
21:09 Pappy
21:06 Pappy
20:59 phil_b
20:53 European Conservative
20:47 DJ Curtis C
20:43 European Conservative
20:41 European Conservative
20:38 Zhang Fei
19:55 OldSpook
19:52 Frank G
19:44 Barbara Skolaut