The US Should Stay Out Of the Libyan Conflict

The US should not become involved in the Libyan uprisings for the following reasons:

1. We do not know the ideology of the rebels. It is likely that they are Muslims, who may seize political control and become more of a US adversary than the Gaddafi administration.

2. We already have a poor record on nationbuilding.

3. We are already over-extended militarily with the pursuit of two ridiculous wars.

4. We cannot get our own financial house in order on present budget considerations and cannot consider additional military outlays.

5. We should not deceive ourselves into thinking that US establishment of a "no-fly zone" over Libya would be a low-cost help. In fact this would be a high-cost declaration of war.

6. We should not deceive ourselves into thinking that the poor people of Libya, need our humane help or our support to establish their freedom. Libya actually has good financial resources through petroleum sales and the likelihood is that the rebel leadership if successful will only be another form of autonomy.