Thread: NATO running short of munitions / laser guided missiles

Anyone know where NATO can get some laser guided missiles

April 17, 2011

Now NATO running short of munitions

Rick Moran
15 Comments

Anyone know where NATO can get some laser guided missiles - cheap? http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat ... story.html

Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials.

The shortage of European munitions, along with the limited number of aircraft available, has raised doubts among some officials about whether the United States can continue to avoid returning to the air campaign if Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi hangs on to power for several more months.

U.S. strike aircraft that participated in the early stage of the operation, before the United States relinquished command to NATO and assumed what President Obama called a "supporting" role, have remained in the theater "on 12-hour standby" with crews "constantly briefed on the current situation," a NATO official said.

So far, the NATO commander has not requested their deployment. Several U.S. military officials said they anticipated being called back into the fight, although a senior administration official said he expected other countries to announce "in the next few days" that they would contribute aircraft equipped with the laser-guided munitions.

Calls at a NATO meeting this past week for more countries to contribute to the air campaign fell on deaf ears so it's probable this request will face a similar fate. There are still only 4 nations out of 28 who are engaged in combat missions.

Meanwhile, US commanders expect to re-enter the fight soon. The rebels are screaming for more air cover and NATO is stretched to its limit.

NATO leaders are probably hoping that Barack Obama will offer American help. They will have a very long wait if they think that.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/201 ... _muni.html

Anyone know where NATO can get some laser guided missiles - cheap?

Sure .. do what this government does: put more Americans in Prison, open up FEMA camps and build the missiles there for 33 cent per hour wages

Prisoners are already building Patriot Missiles

1. Cuts out the American Middle Class
2. Eliminates the Industrial base

But Damn can we do war on the cheap; so do the Patriotic thing and go to Prison America

NATO Running Out Of Ammunition In Libya "Oil Liberation" Campaign

by Tyler Durden
04/17/2011 13:33 -0400
260 comments

Where does one even start with this one: US launches air campaign against oil rich country under pretext of humanitarian intervention (while ignoring comparable events in Syria and Iran). US realizes it does not actually use Libyan oil, government runs out of money, hits debt ceiling, leading to decision to pull out of Libya after it is uncovered that CIA operatives had been laying the groundwork for a government overthrow for months, and a scramble to avoid Iraq deja vu ensues. US hands over military campaign to ragtag NATO force led by France. NATO "air superiority" force bombs rebel units; Libyan rebels lose previously held positions and oil wells. Libyan government on verge of repelling US and NATO forces, leading to... NATO runs out of ammunition. There is no point to even comment on this increasingly more surreal chain of events.

From Defense News: http://defensenews.com/story.php?i=6254304&c=MID&s=AIR

NATO is running short of precision bombs and other munitions in its Libyan operation against the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, The Washington Post reported April 15.

Citing unnamed senior NATO and U.S. officials, the newspaper said the shortage highlights the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action.

The shortage of European munitions, along with the limited number of aircraft available, has raised doubts among some officials about whether the United States can continue to avoid returning to the air campaign, the report said.

So far, the NATO commander has not requested their deployment, The Post noted.

But several U.S. military officials said they anticipated being called back into the fight, the paper said.

Currently, only six out of 28 nations are conducting air strikes, while France and Britain carry out half of them. The other half are conducted by Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

Bottom line: this whole "plan" has been a total disaster from the beginning. And good luck Obama trying to sell a repeat US incursion in what even the idiot electorate now sees through as nothing than another Bush-like attempt to extract oil and implement Halliburton as the chief executive authority. That particular record has already been played.

h/t Themos Mitsos

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/nato-r ... n-campaign

Not doing a very good job of "protecting civilians

April 18, 2011

Rebels flee key city - ask 'Did NATO take Saturday and Sunday off?'

Rick Moran
8 Comments

Libyan rebels are fleeing the strategic town of Adjdabiya Gaddafi's forces are shelling the town indiscriminately. The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/world ... ss&emc=rss

Scores of rebel pickups and other vehicles could be seen leaving the eastern approaches of Ajdabiya, and explosions could be heard in the city. They were headed toward the rebel capital, Benghazi, about 100 miles north.

Their flight seemed to end a rebel push that they said had taken them to the outskirts of the oil-refinery town of Brega, about 50 miles farther west of Ajdabiya, but some rebels did remain at positions in Ajdabiya to try to prevent it from falling to forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Many of the fighters in the vehicles criticized NATO as failing to give them enough support and also said that they had insufficient weapons to match those of government forces.

In Benghazi, a spokesman for the rebels, Mustafa Gheriani, also expressed frustration with NATO airstrikes. "Maybe NATO took off Saturday and Sunday," he said, adding that the rebels were unaware of any airstrikes by the alliance in the past two days.

"Where are the NATO forces?" asked Absalam Hamid, who identified himself as a rebel captain. "We don't know why they didn't bomb them."

With British PM David Cameron reiterating NATO's decision not to employ ground forces, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/ ... JP20110418 it's very difficult to see how this is going to end well for the alliance - and the rebels.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/201 ... did_n.html