W.E.B. Du Bois
03-11-2011, 03:12 AM
latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-us-libya-20110311,0,3360662.story
In a blunt assessment, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate panel Thursday that the battlefield momentum had begun to shift toward Kadafi's regime and, because of its superior firepower and logistical capabilities, "I think over the longer term that the regime will prevail."
The retired Air Force general said his assessment was based in part on secret intelligence, which indicated that special military units loyal to Kadafi and equipped with tanks and artillery have been able to maintain and replenish their weapons.
Even if Kadafi doesn't defeat the rebels, Clapper said, Libya could end up split into two or three parts in "a Somali-like situation," which senators said would be disastrous for U.S. interests.
Supposedly the White House pushed back against this, but it doesn't seem like much of a push back to me:
Clapper's comments sent the White House scrambling to organize an unusual on-the-record conference call with reporters by national security advisor Thomas Donilon, who said Clapper's view didn't take into account the pressure the U.S. and other countries were bringing, such as economic sanctions, travel bans and the freezing of assets.
"We've isolated Kadafi and denied him resources," Donilon said. "We're ensuring accountability, building international support and building capabilities to assist the Libyan people. It's a fluid situation and it's not going to be resolved overnight. But … we've acted quite swiftly and steadily to ramp up our efforts," Donilon said.
Something else:
Gen. Ronald Burgess, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was more equivocal, but told senators that the rebels no longer had the upper hand.
"Initially the momentum was with the other side; that has started to shift," he said. "Whether or not it has fully moved to Kadafi's side is not clear at this time, but we have now reached a state of equilibrium."
If you'll indulge me, although this might sound immature, when I read Clapper's statement it reminded me of a scene from a video game called Starcraft where the leader betrays one of his lieutenants who is under attack by aliens.
It'll sound dumb to people who haven't played the game, and maybe it just sounds dumb period. I just felt like sharing though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S-oaCV1HMQ
In a blunt assessment, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate panel Thursday that the battlefield momentum had begun to shift toward Kadafi's regime and, because of its superior firepower and logistical capabilities, "I think over the longer term that the regime will prevail."
The retired Air Force general said his assessment was based in part on secret intelligence, which indicated that special military units loyal to Kadafi and equipped with tanks and artillery have been able to maintain and replenish their weapons.
Even if Kadafi doesn't defeat the rebels, Clapper said, Libya could end up split into two or three parts in "a Somali-like situation," which senators said would be disastrous for U.S. interests.
Supposedly the White House pushed back against this, but it doesn't seem like much of a push back to me:
Clapper's comments sent the White House scrambling to organize an unusual on-the-record conference call with reporters by national security advisor Thomas Donilon, who said Clapper's view didn't take into account the pressure the U.S. and other countries were bringing, such as economic sanctions, travel bans and the freezing of assets.
"We've isolated Kadafi and denied him resources," Donilon said. "We're ensuring accountability, building international support and building capabilities to assist the Libyan people. It's a fluid situation and it's not going to be resolved overnight. But … we've acted quite swiftly and steadily to ramp up our efforts," Donilon said.
Something else:
Gen. Ronald Burgess, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was more equivocal, but told senators that the rebels no longer had the upper hand.
"Initially the momentum was with the other side; that has started to shift," he said. "Whether or not it has fully moved to Kadafi's side is not clear at this time, but we have now reached a state of equilibrium."
If you'll indulge me, although this might sound immature, when I read Clapper's statement it reminded me of a scene from a video game called Starcraft where the leader betrays one of his lieutenants who is under attack by aliens.
It'll sound dumb to people who haven't played the game, and maybe it just sounds dumb period. I just felt like sharing though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S-oaCV1HMQ