Hate to See the Bill If We’d Been “In Charge”
MSNBC: So far, the French have dropped one bomb. The Brits have fired 12 Tomahawks.
We’ve fired 162 Tomahawks and lost a plane.
UPDATE: And ‘note to self’: If “in charge” of future coalition type war, remember to CHECK MISSILE PANTRY before lobbing TWELVE expensive missiles at QUESTIONABLE TARGETS, if STOCKS ARE LOW AND FUNDS EQUALLY DEPLETED.
The [Royal] Navy could run out of Tomahawk missiles after a fifth of the Navy stockpile has been used against Libya, sources disclosed yesterday.
Defence insiders say as many as 12 of the weapons have been fired from the hunter-killer submarine Triumph in the past four days.
If this is correct, the Navy will have used up to 20 per cent of its 64 Tomahawks in the opening salvos of the war, leading to fears that it is “burning through” its armoury.
Filed under, “D’oh!”
UPDATE: HOLD THOSE TOMAHAWKS and hang on a minute! Schmaybe it won’t be so bad, because there may not be much of a “coalition” by Friday anyway.
Who’s in charge? Germans pull forces out of NATO as Libyan coalition falls apart
This is starting to sound like Thanksgiving dinner three hours after the turkey’s been eaten. Isn’t this some sort of record for frazzled? I mean even ~ choose your Bush ~ they held their respective groups together for longer than three weeks right?
Or are we changing history yet?
Yet Another UPDATE: Someone thinks to ask (after the fact): Can Britain and France Run This War?
Should have counted those missiles before they put their hand up for the “Who wants to…”, “Me, me, me Us, us, us!!!” answer part.
Bingley Update Gates has to be fired (along with his boss)
“This command-and-control business is complicated, and we haven’t done something like this kind of on-the-fly before,” U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Moscow today. “It’s not surprising to me that it would take a few days to get it all sorted out.”
Unless it is a dire emergency you don’t commit our forces until that shit IS figured out, Asshat.
UPDATE: Via Jake Tapper’s Twitter feed, his blog post uses…less than flattering imagery.
President Obama Redefines the Term “Exit Strategy
…“The exit strategy will be executed this week,” President Obama said, “in the sense that we will be pulling back from our much more active efforts to shape the environment. We will still be in a support role. We will be supplying jamming, intelligence and other assets unique to us.”
Planes in the air? Ships in the Mediterranean? Intelligence being provided? Doesn’t sound like an exit strategy at all.
What it does recall is Lewis Carroll.
“‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
I imagine he’ll catch some hell for that column.
Media, Military Thingies, Politics, World Stuff | tree hugging sister | 
March 23, 2011 9:32 am
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What a complete disorganized mess.
This command-and-control business is complicated…
This calls for a double facepalm. C2 is NOT complicated……IF YOU HAVE AN EFFING PLAN IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!
No plan, no command, no control. Savy, Gates? Savy, Obama?
This lesson in basic operations brought to you by a curmudeonly retired light colonel of engineers. Who has absolutely no hope that our Current Glorious Leadership will ever get a clue.
And that should be “curmudgeonly”. Teaching basic operations to clueless politicians is complicated.
I think Gates understands that Jeff, I’ll wager he was overridden. He warned them that a no-fly was not easy. Who is going to fire Gates? The guy that ordered him to do this?
md, he needs to stfu and not say these things.
He’s the command & control element of war planning. I HATE those cheesy weasel statements AFTER lives are on the line.
No, he’s not the command & control element nor should he be. And why should he STFU? He said the truth as anyone can see. You don’t do these things on the fly, you plan for them first. The Prez turned on dime and said attack and I’m sure he would not listen to any dissent. It’s not Gates, this is the dear leader.
I’m sure Gates does understand, Major Dad, but as THS notes, he’s just weaseling for Obama. I refuse to cut the man any slack. Gates did not have to agree to stay on as SecDef.
I don’t know, seems to me that it has been one giant string of cheesy weasel statements from the beginning.
Gates is on his way out anyway as SecDef. It would cause all manner of problems if he up and left right now. You want Hillary as SecDef? He is weaseling for the Prez, I give you that but then who in this adminstration isn’t?
I don’t think Gates should leave now either, md. He’s the only adult on the civilian side of this thing and he’s just doing what he has to do.
“You want Hillary as SecDef? He is weaseling for the Prez, I give you that but then who in this adminstration isn’t?/i>”
No argument that this is the Weasel Administration. But I fail to see why he should be cut any slack because of that. Same for Obama, who likely ordered said weaseling. In between sessions on the soccer field, I mean.
And who do I want as SecDef? I don’t think I’d approve of anyone Obama appointed, on general principle. Including, oddly enough, Gates.
I just think the wrath should go to the source Jeff and that would be the Prez. We maynot approve of anyone Nobama nominates but there are certainly different degrees of that non-approval depending on who he picks. Got to have someone in there.
If you mean that there are bigger targets out there, Major Dad, no argument. But Gates is not entirely blameless. He’s earned some wrath, even if he’s trying to rein in President Putz.
Authority and responsibility are opposite sides of the same coin. That’s another aspect of command and control. His final reckoning could be mitigated by his actions, especially those behind the scenes. But he is not absolved.
This is starting to sound like Thanksgiving dinner three hours after the turkey’s been eaten.
This just may be the best simile ever. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so… not funny.