1
No shit, Mr. Brooks.

2

So while the liberal media dances in joy over this terrific new coalition, they're really just dancing that France is on board.

Wow. And perfect. You're exactly right.

3

I can't help but recall Bush's impressively-pithy statement about all this: The mission should define the coalition; the coalition shouldn't define the mission.

The latter is what got us in trouble with the 1st Gulf War - the French and the Germans shouldn't have be allowed to dissuade us from disposing Saddam the first time. 

4 Told you guys this weeks ago. Now you act surprised. Lybia has always been a French playground. There greatest strategic asset is not letting a failed dictator retire to France. This, plus the loss of his son, means Daffy will go down in flames and take as many as he can with him. That is if the French will send the Foreign Legion to lead the ground effort. Absent that, Daffy remains. Viva half measure!

5
[friggin union italics]

but yeah, if France approves, it must be the right thing to do. I suspect France is the litmus test for the Left because over the years France has become a joke to Americans.

And America is full of unenlightened bigots. So if they're against France, France is the Left's hero.

6 Ace, have you looked into Beck's big story today?

7 But France gives the coalition moral authority!

8 Dave, you voted for this war when you supported president perfect pants.

9 France?  France?  When was the last time that France did anything right militarily?

10 Please don't ask me to vote.

11 Duh, You can't have a proper coalition until you've included the guys with a history of running away.

France, masters of the exit strategy, wherein at some point they look at each other, say:
"Bail?",
"Yeah, bail."
At which point they just walk away leave.

12 France is fighting for the following three reasons: (1) to protect their oil interests, (2) bleeding hearts within the French government demanded it and (3) Sarkozy needs to strengthen his hand for his reelection bid.* If we hadn't gotten involved, this likely would have ended in a dispute between France and England over how to handle this, ala 1800s disputes over Africa. It looks like it may be trending that way already.

_{*Sarkozy is conservative but a more libertarian candidate is currently beating him in the polls.}

13 There has to be some greater fool out there that we can foist all this upon. Some over-esteemed lackwit, some colossal nut-monkey, some self-enraptured fuckwad... Hey, Barry!

14

America is now more pussified than France??

Way to go, Ogabe.

15

Let's not forget why England's so gung-ho for taking out the Colonel:

Gordon Brown and Tony Blair negotiated exclusive contracts for BP to drill in Libya in exchange for the Lockerbie bomber's freedom. The prisoner was transferred, but the Col. reneged on the BP deal.

You'll notice it was a British jet that took a shot at where the Lockerbie bomber was staying . . .

16 Breaking news: Barry just got tickets to the wedding.

17 The Fwench and English haven't thrown down for a couple of hundred years.  We should let them have at it.

18 Presidant Pissant plays wag the dog and we're all tilting at windmills.  Meanwhile, our Rome is burning, and we're ignoring the fire.

He's brilliant, don't you think?

19

David Brooks' mom must be really proud on those rare occasions that her son says something that isn't thoroughly idiotic.

20 There has to be some greater fool out there that we can foist all this upon. Some over-esteemed lackwit, some colossal nut-monkey, some self-enraptured fuckwad...

Hey, Barry!

foisted on their own retards?

21 Hey, no need to disband the coalition, either. What do you guys want to do next?

22 Bambi just loves it when the French look down their nose at him and insult Americans in a way that is so very...French. It gives him a leg-tingle.

23 What's the major difference between Bush's Coalition and Obama's? France. France was the big hold-out in the War in Iraq. They're on board with this one.

The Iraq war cost them money, this one makes them money.  Don't get me started on Perfidious Albion.

24  Hey, no need to disband the coalition, either. What do you guys want to do next?

Posted by: "Coalition Organizer" Barry at March 22, 2011 03:59 PM (FcR7P)

VIETNAM!

25

Reads the post and nods in agreement.

26 where does france want this "political steering committee"....here in the US or in that bastion of fiscal responsibility and integrity, the building on the east river?

27 I do not think that a geopolitical strategy of "multilateralism" that chiefly consists of attempting to get a single, second-tier power on board is a terribly good one.

Especially when said world power has a foriegn policy that is essentially "Let America deal with it, reap the benefit, then call them names"

I can only imagine that Sarkozy is feeling that our sabbatical is starting to suck.

28 The last example of French combat prowess I remember was viseo of some of their soldiers during the Kosovo dustup. They had been kidnapped and handcuffed to a building as human shields. They were standing around, smoking and looking pissy and I remember thinking that but for them being chained to that building, they would have been with their unit - standing around smoking and looking pissy.

29 But Obama, of course, disagrees. For him, it's all about process and paperwork: Meetings. Community organizers and other inveterate busybodies thrive on forcing people into hot conference rooms and nattering them into consensus. It's what makes them so freakin' evil.

30

The Fwench and English haven't thrown down for a couple of hundred years.

The Vichy French shot at the Brits a few times in Algeria in 1942.  Then they got tired and they all went for a nap.

31 *innocently*
So what happened the last time we let France drag us into a conflict?

32 24  Hey, no need to disband the coalition, either. What do you guys want to do next?

Posted by: "Coalition Organizer" Barry at March 22, 2011 03:59 PM (FcR7P)

VIETNAM!

Posted by: Truck Monkey at March 22, 2011 04:00 PM (yQWNf)

Wisconsin!

33 Why is the French Foreign Legion so formidable?  It's made up of non-French.

34 So while the liberal media dances in joy over this terrific new coalition, they're really just dancing that France is on board.

The Lickspittle media^TM

Definition:
a fawning subordinate; a suck-up

About the word
Lick plus spittle says it all: someone who licks another person's spit is pretty low indeed. Incidentally, lickspittle keeps company with bootlicker ("someone who acts obsequiously").

35 Also worth pointing out that Sarkozy was not in charge at the beginning of the second Gulf War, but had he been, France likely would have participated.

36 17 The Fwench and English haven't thrown down for a couple of hundred years.  We should let them have at it.

It almost became incredibly nasty during the Fashoda Incident but they were able to solve it through diplomatic means. However, I don't quite think the Brits are so interested in Africa-- particularly Libya-- this time 'round. The French have more of a stake in Libyan oil than the British, at least in terms of reliance. Britain at least still has the North Sea and points elsewhere.

37 So, what's happening in Japan?  Radiological doom?

38

But French-led war efforts go so well!

39
When nation building begins, and it will, what do you suppose the Left will call it?

Perhaps....'governmental assistance' or 'aid for administrative democracy'

I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

40 Posted by: cui bono, soothsayer? at March 22, 2011 04:05 PM (uFokq)

"billions and billions"

41 35 Also worth pointing out that Sarkozy was not in charge at the beginning of the second Gulf War, but had he been, France likely would have participated.

I agree. Sarkozy may have worked for Chirac's "administration" but the two men are incredibly different.

42 Everyone worked for Chirac's "administration", especially the Parisian whores.

43

I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

Community Organizing Abroad, Using Planes And Bombs And Shit.

44

I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

The Hill:

According to a White House readout of a Monday night call between Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders “underscored their shared commitment to the goal of helping provide the Libyan people an opportunity to transform their country, by installing a democratic system that respects the people’s will.”

The term “installing” suggests the goal of regime change.

45

When nation building begins, and it will, what do you suppose the Left will call it?

International community organizing.

46

I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

United.  We flail.

47 My supermodel wife is still furious zat her beauty was eclipsed by Michelle Obama. And by eclipsed, I mean zat Michelle blocked out ze fucking SUN.

48 @37
Looks like the food contamination is of some concern. 

49 I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya

And t-shirts.  Don't forget the t-shirts. 

50 From Stanley Kurtz:

Most of the commentary on Libya has focused on the tension between ObamaÂ’s apparent desire to displaceQaddafi and his reluctance to admit to it. But the chief reason for this intervention is the one thatÂ’s staring us in the face. Obama dithered when it was simply a matter of replacing Qaddafi, yet quickly acted when slaughter in Benghazi became the issue. What Samantha Power and her supporters want is to solidify the principle of “responsibility to protect” in international law. That requires a “pure” case of intervention on humanitarian grounds. PowerÂ’s agenda would explain why Obama acted when he acted, and why the public rationale for action has not included regime change.

Yet Obama has so far been reluctant to fully explain any of this to either Congress or the American public, perhaps because he realizes that the ideological basis of his actions would not be popular if openly admitted. If Obama were a different sort of president, we would have all heard about “responsibility to protect” long ago. The country would have thoroughly debated PowerÂ’s ideas, and the public would have quickly recognized the core motives of the presidentÂ’s actions in Libya.

Instead, the presidentÂ’s long-term goals have remained murky. HeÂ’s been impossibly vague on regime change, narrowly focused on the danger to Benghazi, and has said relatively little about the aspirations of Power and her associates to enshrine the principles and precedents of humanitarian intervention in international law.

As with health care, ObamaÂ’s talk isnÂ’t working because he cannot afford to specify broader ideological motivations he knows the public wonÂ’t buy.

51

I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

And t-shirts

52

Success in Libya  = many fathers

Failure in Libya = orphan (world community will blame the Great Satan U.S.A.)

53

there is not one honey badger in the whole of France...

fyi

54 I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

Winning Them Freedom _{while destroying ours}

55 Looks like the food contamination is of some concern. 

I hate the uninformative media.  Are the levels of radiation in the food unsafe?  You won't know from reading that.

56 The International Community threw a war, and all I got was a lousy t-shirt!

57

I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya.

And t-shirts

And a logo.

58 I'm sure the Obama admin will have nice euphemism to brand the boondoggle in Libya. Yeah, I find "Operation Odyssey Dawn" disturbingly benign. It should be something like Operation Rip Their Dicks Off or Operation Enraged Honey Badger or something.

59 cicero -
JINX!

60

"As with health care, ObamaÂ’s talk isnÂ’t working because he cannot afford to specify broader ideological motivations he knows the public wonÂ’t buy."

The people are just too darned simple to understand.

61

49 That requires a “pure” case of intervention on humanitarian grounds.

In other words, the US can only act militarily when it has absolutely NOTHING to gain.

Thanks, 52ers . . .

62 You guys going to war?

63 Together We Thrive. Except for that schooyard full of burning children our Tomahawk just hit. Holy shit, they look excited.

64

DAY FOUR:  QADAFFI STILL IN POWER.

Wait for it...

....

...

...

QUAGMIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

65

59

Operation El Dorado Canyon

66
I know one word that will never be used to describe the mess Obama is creating in Libya...

quagmire.

And we'll never hear demands for a timetable, either.

67

Except for that schooyard full of burning children our Tomahawk just hit. Holy shit, they look excited.

EOJ,

You are going to hell for writing that I am right behind you for laughing.  Loudly.

68 diggity!

69 We are lucky to have a warrior like Sheriff Joe Biden behind Barky in this endeavor.  It lends him GRAVITAS.

70

It lends him GRAVITAS.

When is the GRAVITAS delivered?  Before or after the TESTING?  And is the GRAVITAS applied directly to the LOINS?

71 when you have lost David Brooks you better iron your pants.....

72 Why is OK for a Black Man to use military force to slaughter innocent Muslims, but not OK for a White Man with a coalition of countries to free Muslims from oppression?

73 Ace, what you and the right-wing nutters don't understand is this:  President Obama is so wise, so intelligent, so, dare I say, god-like, that He allowed the French to take the lead to forge a stronger coalition.  In fact, He knew the only way to get the French on board was to let them think they were leading.  Had He acted unilaterally from the outset as you wingers wanted, the French and others would have stayed on the sidelines.  But, President Obama is playing 11 dimensional chess while you gun-totters pick you nose, watch pron, and read Bible scriptures. 

He led by not leading.  Brilliant!!1!!1111!!1

74 Obama's being tested, all right. And the motherfucker doesn't even have a Number 2 pencil.

75

"It is hard to get leaders from different nations with different values to agree on a common course of action."

 

But......but.....diversity solves every human organizational problem??!!  Brooks is a heretic, an apostate to The Narrative.

76 Die filthy, encrusted sock.

77

One should remember why France left NATO. When the French were stranded at Dien Bien Phu they requested bomber support from NATO. Under the NATO agreement the French were limited to fighter attack aircraft. DeGauls request meant bombers from the USA under NATO. America said the French could have the bombers but American pilots could not pilot them. Training crews took in excess of 3 months. DeGaul got pissed and left NATO. The French surrendered.

 

So now the French are back in NATO (absent any threat) and are requesting US air cover for their business dealings in Lybia. Remember, its all about oil deals with the French. Interestingly, they actually run a colonial empire and the left loves them. Go figure? Viva the back room deal.

78 So there's a great deal of irony in Brooks' column.

79 And don't forget the War For Chocolate in Africa just a few years ago, too, Napoleon Boned Apart. That was okay with the MFM as well.

80

Not all multilateral efforts are retarded.

Cal vs Stanford in 1982 comes to mind.

But even that is a coaltion of the piddling compared to Trinity vs Millsaps in 2007

81 It is good to hate the French.

82 I keep telling liberals that France did not join us in Iraq because they knew Bush would do their dirty work for them. It was politics! Why should Chirac be branded Bush's poodle, like Tony Blair, and look weak on the world stage and at home?

I'm sure France will weasel out of this one in a week or so when they run out of ammo or when Sarko's poll numbers go down.

While pols fiddled, Libya burned.

83 "81 And don't forget the War For Chocolate in Africa just a few years ago, too, Napoleon Boned Apart. That was okay with the MFM as well."     Viva de cocoa! Down with Dutch Chocolate. The Dutch are dirty illiterates scruntcheons. I fart in your general direction. Nee! Nee!

84 A good point, Europe acted swiftly to prevent the further exodus of Libyans entering Italy and France as illegal emigrants.

...Perhaps France wants to possess Libya for having "lost" Algiers.

85 The quickest way to snuff a war is to refuse payment.

There was no authorizing resolution by Congress allowing money to be spent on a war against Col. Gaddafi. As far as I know, there was no meeting of Mr. Obama and top leaders of Congress to discuss the subject in even rough form, let alone detail. -- Ben Stein

Rather than usurp tax funds to cover the costs, send the bill to the interventionists held personally financially responsible.

The Roman Empire Armies BELONGED to the Generals who financed their own campaigns. The men were only paid what their General benevolently granted them from the plunder after victory.

86

French now proposing international committee to drive the Libyan effort.  No to NATO idea.  What could go wrong?

87 If France is going to be calling our military tune in the future, we can probably expect a bunch of messy central African cluster fucks that smack of post colonial tantrums in the future.

88 Good news:  the french are harmless.

Bad news:  when you need help, the french are harmless.

89 I've been thinking about the name for Obama's Excellent Libyan Adventure: "Operation Odyssey Dawn." The original odyssey of Greek myth was a 20 year ordeal. Is that what this is the "dawn" of?

90 Slightly off-topic, but I imagine Brooks ripping Obama's pants off in one quick rip and inhaling the essence of Obama's crease like the guy in that Dorito's commercial.

91 One should remember why France left NATO. When the French were stranded at Dien Bien Phu they requested bomber support from NATO. Under the NATO agreement the French were limited to fighter attack aircraft. DeGauls request meant bombers from the USA under NATO. America said the French could have the bombers but American pilots could not pilot them. Training crews took in excess of 3 months. DeGaul got pissed and left NATO. The French surrendered.

Umm.  No.

Dien Bien Phu was 1954.
The French did not announce their intention to leave NATO until 1966.
I have no idea where that story came from, but it's just wrong.

92 Exactly when is everybody going to finally get it threw their collective heads that Pres**ent Obama has no particular leadership abilities to begin with. He only claimed during the campaign that he had this ability to "get people in a room" but never claimed any ability beyond that.
Well, hookers have the same ability, but they have never lead anybody anywhere, except possibly ruin.

93 Die filthy, encrusted sock وظائفوظائف خالية

94 8Oh God you are a genius person and a good photographer i like your pics thanks.