Az Zawiyah
CNN is confirming that fighting is ongoing in the area. Also, apparently the rebellion is the result of young whippersnappers on his lawn, al Queda, and psychedelic drugs in the coffee according to Libyan's leader.
I'm not making that last bit up. He really did say it was due to drugs.
Looks like the US is planning to invade Libya, if i understand Obama's speech last night correctly.. Bad, bad idea. Could end up like another Somalia, but then with a $200+ dollar per barrel oil. Maybe even worse.
Full-scale invasion is a military impossibility in a meaningful timescale. At this moment, if my reading of things is correct, there are however a few military options open.
The US has a CVBG in the Med and could deploy another two or so in a few days. (There is also a 'phib group, but don't think for a minute that you're going to storm Tripoli with a couple battalions of Marines.) That gives you a carrier air wing and 20-odd Tomahawks to play with. Either coordinating with those on the ground (unlikely) or simply striking known targets that support the regime (command, control, communications) could both help even the odds. However Obama does not strike me as the sort to do so unilaterally.
What he could do, though, would be to recognize the rebellion and offer military protection to areas under rebel control, particularly Benghazi. A carrier air wing would prevent aerial or naval bombardment. (Nobody seems to know where the Libyan Navy is at the moment, or at least nobody is telling, but that collection of patrol boats could make a real mess of something if allowed.)
