Tripoli business district - Image via Wikipedia Since the U.S. and the minority coalition established the No-Fly Zone over Libya last week, the rebels have fared better. To gain control over the skies, it was necessary to destroy Gadafi compounds, tanks, anti-aircraft batteries, weapons dumps and whole regiments of troops on the move. In short, America, the British and the French decimated most of the Gadafi regime.
At present, the rebels have marched along the coastal cities, taking back ownership after Gadafi drove them out with aerial bombings and tank bombardments. Turn about was fair play and Gadafi's troops got a taste of the horror they inflicted upon others, now visited upon themselves.
As a result, the Gadafi troops are severely demoralized, scattered, deserting as they cast aside uniforms. The true test will be when the rebels get closer to Tripoli where the last of the Gadafi loyalists and military are holding out.
Military analysts gave little hope to the Rag Tag Fleet of the rebels because they seem so disorganized, ill equipped and just plain militarily clueless. But what you can never discount is a desperate man who is fed up and his spirit burns bright, strong enough to face anything. A person does reach a point where they would rather die honorably in the fight than continue to live badly, afraid to fight the tyranny.
Much of the rebel force is made up of college kids, teenagers, engineers, teachers and fishermen. Consider this: as this civil war continues these sectors of professionals will find their strengths as any opposition group does over time. With the help of the coalition forces commanding the air, they stand a fighting chance to capture Gadafi or force his removal.
How? Think of their strengths instead of focused upon their weaknesses. The teenagers and college kids have the passion, the physical strength and idealism. The teachers know how to put situations into structure and teach new information to others of varied experience and ability.
The engineers are practical and mechanical. They will figure out the weapons, how to use them effectively, focusing upon details of strategies. The fishermen know how to hunt in vast large spaces, chasing after the elusive and unseen. They will anticipate where their prey will go and how it will act, devising ways to capture that prey. As these groups pool their strengths they will move in interesting ways the traditionally trained Gadafi military cannot predict. It's like a giant psy-ops campaign devised on the fly that will prove successful.
It will be hard going and many will die as they figure out how to best deploy their strengths, ignoring the critics. What they possess, the most valuable for any army, is unity of spirit and agreement of mission.
The Obama critics need to quit with the whining. Does America need to spend the majority of the money for the mission? That would be a "Hell, no!" Pony up to the banking bar oh, Arab League and put your money where your loud mouth is right here, right now. America has done her part now you do yours.
Since the Libyan rebels took back key oil ports, promising to restore oil exports. Oil prices fell today.
Rupert Murdoch, Image by DonkeyHotey via Flickr
