Strategy! - Libya Edition

[Blaze]

The Maps:













Describe the Revolutionary Forces:

1. Leader/s:

A. Strengths -

B. Weaknesses -

2. Organization:

A. Strengths -

B. Weaknesses -

3. Armaments (Physical and perceived):

A. Strengths -

B. Weaknesses -

Describe the Gaddafi Regime:

1. Leader/s:

A. Strengths -

B. Weaknesses -

2. Organization:

A. Strengths -

B. Weaknesses -

3. Armaments (Physical and perceived):

A. Strengths -

B. Weaknesses -

Discuss

[ELVIS]

[Blaze]

These planes of Gaddafi are really a pain in the arse.

What good is a no fly zone issued by whomever? Useless I tell you.
The planes need to be stopped.

Considering the resources, I would say send in 25, or there abouts, coked-up cowboys to sugar the tanks (or something similar). They have to be coked-up good so they will be skittish, bold, and grandiose in their belief in themselves because they are operating with instinct not training.

[Blaze]

Correction : Ritalin or Pharmaceutical cocaine (or something medically similar) not the slang term I used.

[Kristy]

Anyone find it a wee bit ironic that Gaddafi, whether on his medication or off, and Libya with its "sweet crude" is enough to buy the latest in Soviet MiGs or that its the French being the first to call for a "no fly zone" while selling Dassault Mirage's to his air force?

[Blaze]

As long as it is not food or water (morally wrong to destroy), it is best to forgo the possible pillage and destroy assets or severely disable them.

[Blaze]

Despite the creation of a breakaway Kurdish enclave, and the most crippling sanctions imposed in modern times, Hussein held on to power until he was deposed in 2003 by a “shock and awe” air campaign and ground invasion of US troops.

“What happened as we know is that Saddam quickly solidified his support base, and the separation of the Kurdish areas from Baghdad actually helped him, because it isolated the contagion; then he used sanctions to strengthen his position,” says Dodge.

Now, he says, Qaddafi faces a similar situation.

“We have revolt in Benghazi, too disorganized to defeat him, which means either [Qaddafi] can roll it back in or he can just take that portion of the country – a thorn in the side of the regime ever since the [1969] revolution – and isolate it. He then falls back on his heartland, where he’s strong … and then solidifies a potentially defendable position.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0308/Why-Libya-s-Qaddafi-could-survive-like-Saddam-in-1991/(page)/2

[Blaze]

True or false???
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

International banks are refusing to clear payments in U.S. dollars for the Libyan oil trade, Reuters ...

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110308-710358.html

[hambon4lif]

By their positioning, it looks as if they're utilizing the Sun Tzu strategy, almost to the letter. If Misrata and Zawlya are deliberate diversions, it could be very effective.

[Blaze]

Libya's helicopter forces are greatest threat, U.S. Marine chief says

Washington (CNN) -- Libya's helicopter forces are its greatest threat, the head of the Marine Corps said Tuesday.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, asked Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos about Libya's air capabilities during a committee hearing held to discuss the Navy's portion of the 2012 Defense budget request.

"I think it's modest," Amos responded. "I think probably their greatest threat are their helicopter-type forces."

Helicopters would be more difficult to target if the international community set up a no-fly zone. Such a zone would typically be enforced by fighter jets whose speed and altitude make it difficult to target helicopters, which move low and slow.

Amos didn't know how many helicopters and fixed wing aircraft the Libyan government has but said the forces are predominately concentrated in four airbases around Tripoli.

"Has it been your experience in combat if the enemy controls the air above, particularly in terrain like Libya, it gives them an enormous advantage," McCain asked.

Amos would not answer the question directly, calling the environment where the Gadhafi forces are located "very complex."

"Sir, I think there are several things that would give the enemy enormous advantage. One is the ground movement of forces, vehicles, movement on the ground," Amos said. "So I think it's more than just aviation."

The Libyan Air Force has major deficiencies in its operational capabilities, according to Jane's Information Group, which does analysis of military forces. Its assessment notes it is possible that contract officers fly important missions due to the "low standard of locally trained aircrew."

Libya's Air Force command is in Tripoli, according to Jane's. Their helicopter fleet is small, perhaps no more than a few dozen attack helicopters built more than 30 years ago, it says. But the Air Force is believed to have many utility helicopters, as well, which can be used to move troops and equipment.

Compared with NATO pilots, Libya's fighter jet pilots are believed to get four times less training in the air, Jane's says, and Russian pilots who have been to Libya say that the Libyan pilots have a hard time tolerating high-altitude maneuvers. Most fighter jets are the old Soviet-era MiGs, and fewer than 200 are operational, according to Jane's.

McCain expressed frustration with the lack of answers to some of his questions, including a question on whether Amos had heard reports about Gadhafi flying mercenaries from other countries into Libya. Amos said he had not.

"You have been getting regular briefings?" McCain asked Amos. Amos said he had.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/08/senate.hearing.libya/

[Blaze]

And finally, the official words for the isolated.

Voice of America ®
A Trusted Source of News & Information since 1942

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Correspondent-Debriefer-An-Inside-View-of-the-Situation-on-the-Ground-in-Benghazi-Libya-117589018.html

Correspondent Debriefer: An Inside View of the Situation in Benghazi, Libya

[IMG]http://media.voanews.com/images/480*347/reu_benghazi_480_8mar11.jpg[/IMG]

[chefcraig]

By their positioning, it looks as if they're utilizing the Sun Tzu strategy, almost to the letter. If Misrata and Zawlya are deliberate diversions, it could be very effective.

Yeah, I liked Stratego when I was a kid, as well.


Yet the older I got, the more I enjoyed Othello. Easier to play when lit.

[hambon4lif]

I like 'GO' myself......

Facetiousness? Really??!?!?

[Nitro Express]

Another spat to sell weapons to.

[Nitro Express]

My father in law was a product manager on the Comanche attack helicopter program. It was scrapped because attack helicopters are obsolete due to shoulder fired missiles. They are just too slow. Attack aircraft and drones have replaced them.