While the World watched, Col. Gaddafi, the despot who has ruled Oil rich Libya for close to 40 years, used an iron fist, and by some accounts , mercenaries, to crack down on dissidents, who threatended his hold over the North African nation.
Finally under the aegis of the UN , a no fly zone was finally imposed, so that Gadaffi , could not atleast use war planes against the over-matched rebels . As part of the effort to impose the no fly zone, it has been estimated, this would cost close to $800 million.
Such spending has come in for criticism at home , where there is a new conciousness of the state of the deficit..
All this consternation, is at the very least perplexing and in my opinion misplaced.
Firstly, the reason why America, spends as much as it does on the military is to protect and project American interests abroad. If this was not the objective, America can get by spending the same as Canada and Mexico.
Some of the media attention on spending on the hostilities in Libya , has focused on the Tomahawk missiles (hundreds are being used).
I also saw an estimate on how much it cost to operate a military aircraft for an hour..
A couple of points need to be made here. Missiles have a shelf life.. If they are not used in a certain time frame, they will eventually have to be scrapped.
So firing off a tomahawk, is closer to using an egg once you have bought it , before it spoils.
Also what exactly do you believe the military does in peace time? They train and practice.Would anyone question the cost of operating military aircraft for such purposes in peace time?
Coming to think of it In have never heard a single protestation of the pointless fly pasts during the Superbowl.. Do you believe the NFL pays for that?
Finally under the aegis of the UN , a no fly zone was finally imposed, so that Gadaffi , could not atleast use war planes against the over-matched rebels . As part of the effort to impose the no fly zone, it has been estimated, this would cost close to $800 million.
Such spending has come in for criticism at home , where there is a new conciousness of the state of the deficit..
All this consternation, is at the very least perplexing and in my opinion misplaced.
Firstly, the reason why America, spends as much as it does on the military is to protect and project American interests abroad. If this was not the objective, America can get by spending the same as Canada and Mexico.
Some of the media attention on spending on the hostilities in Libya , has focused on the Tomahawk missiles (hundreds are being used).
I also saw an estimate on how much it cost to operate a military aircraft for an hour..
A couple of points need to be made here. Missiles have a shelf life.. If they are not used in a certain time frame, they will eventually have to be scrapped.
So firing off a tomahawk, is closer to using an egg once you have bought it , before it spoils.
Also what exactly do you believe the military does in peace time? They train and practice.Would anyone question the cost of operating military aircraft for such purposes in peace time?
Coming to think of it In have never heard a single protestation of the pointless fly pasts during the Superbowl.. Do you believe the NFL pays for that?
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