How long before we have Special Operations Forces "training" the Libyan rebels?

[Hugabear]

My bet is that they're already there. I'm sure that we have US Special Forces and British SAS working alongside the rebels in an "advisory" capacity. After all, this is precisely what these forces were originally designed for.

[al bupp]

1. Hard to say, sir, but IHMO...

the sooner the better. Clearly the Libyan rebels need all the help they can get. British papers have been reporting the presence of their SAS for several days now, though they claim they're there to secure mustard gas, SA missile sites and British petro workers.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

17. +1 nt

[Marblehead]

2. Worked well in Vietnam..

:shrug:

[NightWatcher]

3. the rebel leader is probably a cia asset....Khalifa Hifter

he's spent much of the past 20 years living down the street from cia hq

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/03/26/111109/new-rebel-leader-spent-much-of.html

[conspirator]

7. +1. I wonder when then MSM is going to cover the story of his background n/t

[arcane1]

9. Right after they cover the stories of Chalabi and Karzai n/t

[David__77]

4. Hopefully not now or ever.

The US, of course, should stay out of Libya, just as Libya should stay out of the US. We don't need any more blowback from US midadventures.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. Just before the "temporary" buildup, but before the "surge" to try to save the FUBAR.

The excuses, regrets, and "mistakes were made" will come shortly after the monument to the dead is erected and the new bogeyman is found.

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. Most probably the question would be "How long since" n/t

[arcane1]

8. The UK already has them in Libya

though who knows what they are actually doing while there? :shrug:

[Catherina]

10. How long? More like how long have they been. Rec'd n/t

[The Magistrate]

11. Probably Happening Already, Sir

[backscatter712]

13. That's my bet.

In fact, that's one of the jobs Special Ops forces are trained to do - hook up with locals out on the battlefield, train them, advise them, drill them up on military tactics. And maybe hook them up with some weapons.

[EFerrari]

20. Libya: Obama authorized covert support for rebels

Libya: Obama authorized covert support for rebels

Xeni Jardin at 1:24 PM Wednesday, Mar 30, 2011

Reuters reports that President Barack Obama signed a no-longer "secret order" authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces attempting to overthrow Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The approval came weeks ago, but news "leaks" today as the administration considers sending arms and military support directly to the opposition forces.

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/30/libya-obama-authoriz.html?dlvrit=36761

Hotlink goes to Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-order-idUSTRE72T6H220110330?WT.tsrc=Social%20Media&WT.z_smid=twtr-reuters_%20com&WT.z_smid_dest=Twitter

[EFerrari]

12. NATO Chief Opens The Door to Libya Ground Troops

NATO Chief Opens The Door to Libya Ground Troops
* By Spencer Ackerman Email Author
* March 29, 2011

The mantra, from President Obama on down, is that ground forces are totally ruled out for Libya. After all, the United Nations Security Council Resolution authorizing the war explicitly rules out any “occupation” forces. But leave it to the top military officer of NATO, which takes over the war on Wednesday, to add an asterisk to that ban.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island asked Adm. James Stavridis about NATO putting forces into “post-Gadhafi” Libya to make sure the country doesn’t fall apart. Stavridis said he “wouldn’t say NATO’s considering it yet.” But because of NATO’s history of putting peacekeepers in the Balkans — as pictured above — “the possibility of a stabilization regime exists.”

So welcome to a new possible “endgame” for Libya. Western troops patrolling Libya’s cities during a a shaky transition after Moammar Gadhafi’s regime has fallen, however that’s supposed to happen. Thousands of NATO troops patrolled Bosnia and Kosovo’s tense streets for years. And Iraq and Afghanistan taught the U.S. and NATO very dearly that fierce insurgent conflict can follow the end of a brutal regime. In fact, it’s the moments after the regime falls that can be the most dangerous of all — especially if well-intentioned foreign troops become an object of local resentment.

In fact, Stavridis told Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma that he saw “flickers of intelligence” indicating “al-Qaeda Hezbollah” have fighters amongst the Libyan rebels. The Supreme Allied Commander of NATO noted that the leadership of the rebels are “responsible men and women struggling against Col. Gadhafi” and couldn’t say if the terrorist element in the opposition is “significant.” But the U.S. knows precious little about who the Libyan rebels are.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/03/nato-chief-opens-the-door-to-libya-ground-troops/

[ProgressIn2008]

14. I expect, in the middle of Obama's second term, to find that they've been there since early 2011.

Media will be "shocked."

Nothing will come of it, since by that time, we'll have found a new war.

Edited to ponder: are their boots hitting the ground, I wonder, or are they suspended above it?

[sad sally]

15. My bet is the same. Remember this story from Feb 2010?

3 U.S. Special Forces Die in Pakistan Bombing
Officials Believe Vehicle Carrying Americans in Convoy Was Targeted by Bombers

BY NICK SCHIFRIN AND HABIBULLAH KHAN
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 3, 2010

Three U.S. special operations forces helping train Pakistan's embattled paramilitary corps were killed today when their vehicle was destroyed by a remote control bomb, the deadliest ever attack on Americans in Pakistan.

More than 20 special operations forces are in Pakistan to train the Frontier Corps, the historically under-equipped and ill-trained force fighting the Taliban in Pakistan's volatile northwest. The training program has been acknowledged by the Pakistani military but is rarely publicized because of fears it will stoke rising anti-American sentiment.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/us-military-die-pakistan-bombing/story?id=9734681?du

[Jamastiene]

16. Probably already do.

We just don't know about it...yet.

[intaglio]

18. Not "Special Forces"

"Private Contractors"

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Probably, just after the "Mission Accomplished" announcement.

But, before the "temporary" escalation or "surge".

[hulka38]

21. +1

I completely agree.