NPR: “President Obama said Wednesday it was ‘absolutely’ out of the question that U.S. ground forces would be used in Libya.”
How would the president describe the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit? There is no such thing as a purely air-based combat mission; planes have problems and pilots end up on the ground, and then U.S. forces have to end up on the ground, hopefully briefly, to rescue them and bring them home safely. Ask Scott O’Grady how much time you can spend on the ground while patrolling a no-fly zone.
Details on the recent rescue:
The Kearsarge then sent up two MV-22 Ospreys carrying Marine rescue teams. As they were en route, the Harriers dropped two laser-guided bombs near the crash site, apparently to keep Libyans on the ground from approaching the pilot.
With additional helicopters hovering overhead for security, one of the Ospreys landed and picked up the pilot. He was then taken aboard the Kearsarge.
The weapons systems officer was recovered by what U.S. officials described as Libyan opposition forces. He is safe, officials have said.
There are about 2,200 Marines off the shore of Libya right now.
UPDATE: God bless Matt Drudge and the Drudge Report.
With the sudden influx of attention, permit me to further clarify the original point of this post: President Obama’s tendency to speak in broad, sweeping terms that are not accurate (see Tim Carney for more illustrations of this) and to underline the folly of the notion, implied by much of this administration’s rhetoric, that any military action can be quick, clean, or easy, or involve only minimal risk. Thankfully, the rescue of the downed pilots earlier this week went off without a hitch, and God willing, any future rescues will end successfully and with minimal contact with the enemy. But that’s up to chance; Operation Eagle Claw and the Battle of Mogadishu demonstrate that there’s no such thing as a simple rescue mission. At some point, the U.S. may need many “boots on the ground,” despite repeated, broadly worded assurances from the president and commanding officers that such a scenario will not occur.
Please God don't let any of our soldiers be captured or killed. Just reading this sends chills down my spine about potential casualties.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI support rescuing flyers who have to eject. There is no story here. Obama is right, rare at that is.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseOf the ships off of Libya 2 are amphibious assault ships. One is the USS Mt. Whitney which is an amphibious communications and command ship. The amphibious (gator) navy has one mission and that is getting troops on the ground, any surprise there?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIs this another one of those, "I was for it, before I was against it," moments?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm certainly not an Obama supporter by any means, but there is no story here. Quit fishing for drama Jim.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseoddly enough it was the Kearsarge that sent the team that rescued scott o'grady as well as this airforce crew.these two were quite fortunate that the locals were friendly since there is very little cover to hide in,o'grady recounted that he hid 'like a scared rabbit' till rescued.what I don't understand is why western media is touring around with mo-mar's troops
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSituation NORMAL move along. Stop the rumor mongering.
It's normal to have a Marines on Navy ships.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf they are usimg laser guided bombs then someone has to be on the ground painting the target with the laser. This isn't GPS and the laser is not from a satelite. Either we trained the resistance real fast on how to aim this pinpoint equipment(this is a real hard assumption) or we are not being told the truth about what we have on the ground. Just a bit of thought. God bless my former sister 26th MEU and all U.S. servicemen in harms way in any conflict. Just a thought on leadership, Integrity is one of the most important Leadership Traits following Judgement, Justice, Disciveness, Integrity, Dependability, Tact, Iniative, Bearing, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, Initiative. These come directly out the USMC Leadership training. Semper Fi
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWake up on Obama folks!! Time is running out for your voice!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGo figure...most transparent admin ever.... and now they are in the process of changing the wording used so they aren't in violation of the law...Its not war its kinetic military action... Its not rape its a kinetic bodily action, its not illegal immigration its kinetic foot action... This is pathetic.
@Ron xyz
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe rebels protected the pilots, there was no need for us to send more guys in, these rebels truly are happy to have America fighting its war for them. In the very least if they cant win their own war they can help evacuate our fallen pilots.
Hey, cut some slack here.
BEING president is a lot different than RUNNING for president.
Okay?
If Obama is a bit on the agressive side to protect America, good for him.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Being President is different than running for President..."
Oh good. You noticed.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWith regard to the previous comment regarding the use of laser guided bombs. No ground troops are required to use this type of air dropped ordnance. The aircraft have laser designators which "paint" the target just prior to dropping the bomb and the aircraft keeps the target painted until the bomb either hits the target or misses. Other standoff aircraft can also be used to paint the target with the laser designator and another aircraft drops the bomb(s). This technology has been around since the later stages of the Vietnam War and was demonstrated nightly on CNN during the first gulf war.
Hope this clears up some misconceptions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseSo-"NO boots on the ground," which was repeatedly said publically by Comrade Obama, is a big fat fib???
My pooch knows there are marines on aircraft carriers-that is a separate issue. The issue here is-are there boots on the ground in Libya right now or not? Yes or no? This is not nuclear physics! If marines are there now to spot targets on the ground-then there ARE boots on the ground, and Chairman Obama is once again lying to the American people.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJG,
I agree with Ron - there is not much of a story here and it just makes you look bad to gin up something factually empty just so you have a blog post for the day/hour/minute.
You are almost always better than this.
It makes us conservatives look bad when we posture for purely political reasons (what are we, liberals?) - ie, carping about actions (Libya) that many/most of us are actually in favor of...
This empty, mewling rhetoric about one of the rare times Obama has acted correctly (if belatedly) has become the conservative version of PC - feigned virtue wounded.
Please stop it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe USS Kearsarge is not only a vessel used for amphibious attacks but also used as an Osprey carrier for rescue missions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhile it is true that sending ground troops into Libya would contradict Obama's declaration that not one troop would step foot into Libya, the need for ground troops is obvious. LBJ, Carter, and Clinton have already demonstrated that you cannot win a war from the sky. Troop presence is always a necessity. Of course, this poses an important question: does Obama need congressional approval before ground troops can step foot into Libya, as it would veer from the intentions of the U.N. resolution? I would say that he certainly does need congressional approval.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuseoracle2world wrote:
"Being President is different than running for President..."
and Traveler replied,
"Oh good. You noticed."
By now I imagine that even the Annointed One must have noted. Let's hope the American people noticed as well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseInteresting how the Obama supporters sound like the same person with different names.
What did Barney Fife used to say after he screwed up?
"Nothing to see here."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWith regards to Former Navy Vet, yes designators are on aircraft but any boot who has been on the ground in a forward unit(scout sniper or any other Specail Forces)knows that the use of portable laser units are more effective and precise to what is moving/occuring on the ground. Think Qadaffi's son being blown up, would we really trust all intel coming from untrained rebels without any way of making sure it is 100 percent good. If we are getting untrained intel this is a recipe for disater. Just a thought, and again Former Navy Vet is correct but if we start seeing important Lybian Officails dying on the move, or not at work or home it poses questions.
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