The contradiction:

Thursday-March 24, 2011

The contradiction:

We have heard many versions of what is happening in Libya, since the enforcement of the no fly zone that was initiated last weekend. Secretary of State Clinton said Colonel Qadaffi must go. The Secretary went on to say: however, there is no legal authority that permits us to do that in United Nation’s resolution to enforce a no fly zone.

Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, says that the policy of the transition of authority to enforce the no fly zone from the United States to that of NATO is being done “on the fly.”

The President was being lauded by the press for his multi tasking ability to eat dinner in Chile and be kept up to date on the actions in Libya. The President also says that the turn over of authority will be accomplished by weeks end. All of which has been contradicted not only by NATO, but by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense.

I have been observing this situation and other interesting situations created by this White House throughout the year. The conclusion I come up with is that when the President agrees to do something, he makes a decision and says I want it done tomorrow or I want it ended tomorrow. He then shifts gears to something else.

This way, he can shift the responsibility and shift the blame when things go south. He will also take the credit when things surprisingly go well. He creates a win - win situation for himself at the expense of others.

My fear is that the President made a decision that he didn’t want to make, with regards to Libya. The coalition that was assembled has members that have never been part of a NATO coalition and or any other coalition of that type. In the end, these new members will ultimately make the decisions that will affect the NATO troops, as this war ramps up. The president’s policy to commit the U.S. military early on has now been contradicted by his policy to pull out the U.S. military prematurely. He has also pledged American help in the future

There are three main elements to any successful military campaign - they are:
A clearly defined mission
A unambiguous chain of Command
A stated end goal or goals – that will give direction on what it is you are working towards
The mission in Libya today is a contradiction, the chain of command is a contradiction and the stated goals are yet a bigger contradiction.

My question is what happened to the common goal of any military conflict to eliminate or defeat your adversary? With all these contradictions, how can the coalition be successful? It can’t, because that goal is not part of the mission even though the president said Qadaffi must go. While some officials are saying this is a military operation, most are denying it.

If the shoe were on the other foot, what would Qadaffi do? First - I think he would go for the oil – second he would show no mercy – third he would go into the theater of operations with overwhelming force. Finally, he would be leading the coalition.

The price of oil hit $105.00 a barrel yesterday and we are not securing the oil in Libya for our consumption and the coalition’s consumption. This is the contradiction in leadership because no one is securing a valued piece of real estate there. Here, the price of oil has risen by $19.00 a barrel since February 16, the day the Libyan events started.

The price of gasoline is now up to $3.56 a gallon. The President has pledged 3.5 billion American dollars to help Brazil in development of their offshore shore oil reserves. The oil coming out of Libya has been halted. The president is giving Brazil credit, so they can exploit their offshore development while it is illegal for us to do it here in our country! It’s okay for them, but not for us!

This is the contradiction that the world has now seen and is now concerned about. When the supply of oil is halted from Libya, there is not another country that can fill the supply void quickly. When the supply of oil is halted from Libya, you cannot depend on another country filling the void in the short term.

Today, there is confusion and contradiction in the goals, the ultimate leadership and the duration of the military events in Libya. Today, there is confusion and contradiction in the goals, the ultimate leadership and the duration of policy initiatives coming out of the White House.

General Omar Nelson Bradley said: “We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.”

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: We expect action from our leaders. We do not and should not accept inaction, especially with contradiction!