NYT Calls for Protecting Libyan Civilians by Escalating War--Like in Fallujah
Afraid of NATO killing civilians in Libya? The
New York Times editorial page (
4/8/11) sees the way forward by ramping up the war:
"There is a much better option: the American A-10 and
AC-130 aircraft used earlier in the Libya fighting and still on standby
status....
"But no other country has aircraft comparable to America’s A-10, which
is known as the Warthog, designed to attack tanks and other armored
vehicles, or to the AC-130 ground-attack gunship, which is ideally
suited for carefully sorting out targets in populated areas."
AC-130s were used frequently in the Iraq War, particularly in the
bloody fight in the city of Fallujah--which was not often characterized
by the careful sorting of targets. The
Times established a
record of downplaying the civilian deaths there, which might help explain why their editorial page has such faith in the careful sorting properties of these aircraft.
