NATO (aka United States) Warns Rebels Against Attacking Civilians or face bombing! WTF?

We might as well call this the Keystone Kops of kinetic engagement. Do you think it would’ve been much wiser to really investigate exactly who the heck these so-called rebels are? Maybe their mercenaries who used to kill Americans?

Does this mean the U.S. …er…Nato is on both sides of this civil war?

New York Times reports that members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, according to senior military and government officials.

As NATO takes over control of airstrikes in Libya, and the Obama administration considers new steps to tip the balance of power there, the coalition has told the rebels that if they endanger civilians, they will not be shielded from possible bombardment by NATO planes and missiles, just as the government’s forces have been punished.

“We’ve been conveying a message to the rebels that we will be compelled to defend civilians, whether pro-Qaddafi or pro-opposition,” said a senior Obama administration official. “We are working very hard behind the scenes with the rebels so we don’t confront a situation where we face a decision to strike the rebels to defend civilians.”


More details here

I like how the Times reports the story so seriously without a hint of alluding to the total ridiculousness of it all. There’s another word this, its “quagmire”. Maybe the Times has forgotten that they use to use the Q-word quite often during Viet Nam and under the George W. Bush administration.

Memeorandun