Should the US be more involved in Libya or Japan?

No and no, unless their support is requested by the Japanese government.

We really don’t have the money for either, but on Japan it would be better spent.

We offered help to the Japanese. They took some of what we offered and didn’t take the rest. Our staunchest Eurpoean allies begged us to get involved in Libya and we did the least that they asked for. It’s an apples and oranges comparison of course, since the 2 things are completely different types of “help”.

As for not havingthe money for either, the problem is that we’re paying for this massive and largely unnessecary military. When an opportunity to use it arises we might as well. If we really want to balance the budget we could simply cut the military budget by 50%. We’d still have a military 4 times the size of the next biggest on earth and we’d have a surplus of revenue.

I think out involvement in both is just about right.

We’re going to have to learn that we cannot be the world’s policeman, nor can we be the world’s emergency storehouse. There ARE other countries out there, you know!

@CaptainHarley – Yes.

I think it would also be good politics to strengthen the UN and for the G7 to stop fucking around in countries they aren’t invited in to. The interventions seem to me to be too selective to be trusted.

But it was under a UN resolution that we entered Libya. It was at the staunch urging of our international allies. This is an international action and we’ve already handed off the lead. I was of @CaptainHarley‘s opinion when we invaded Iraq without UN approval, without international consent and without any clear reason. I think the situation in Libya is antipodal.

Why haven’t we invaded Bahrain? Saudi Arabia? Syria?

Why did the G7 choose Libya?

@the100thmonkey

“While the rest of the world should be able to handle the loss of Libya’s light sweet oil, it poses severe problems for Europe’s already troubled refining sector, which relies on high quality crudes to make any money at all. Loss of Libya’s oil production has exposed the escalating problem for European refiners trapped between increasingly stringent standards for transportation fuels and their own lack of investment in upgrading and especially desulphurisation capacity as a result of poor profitability.”

Link to Commodities Now.

They could import more from Saudi Arabia (or other countries), but their oil contains too much sulfur for their refineries to make transport fuels under the current regulations. The market for light (skewed towards more volatile hydrocarbons), sweet (low sulfur) crude apparently has little slack, as it is the least common and most valuable type of crude oil.

It would be good if NATO sucked it up and got their act together; they’re the ones buying sweet oil from Libya. The rebels in Libya are for the most part unarmed and are being fired on by the army. Libya’s proximity to Egypt andTunisia, as well as the southern part of Europe make it desirable to keep that part of the world stable.

As for Japan, as bad as it is where it hit, that is a small fraction of the country. There’s pretty much a standing offer to send what’s asked of us. Japan’s military is entirely a non-combatant force. The country’s infrastructure with regards to social services is well-organized. I suspect a lot of support will be played out in trade agreements. Japan generally exports more than it imports; this may provide an impetus to import more or different goods, like foodstuffs and building materials.

Libya isn’t about helping any rebels primarily. It’s about stopping a massacre of civilians. The opportunity for the US here is huge: be seen as a positive force in the Arab world. The US invaded Iraq without a UN resolution and against the opinion of the Arab League. Now there’s a UN resolution for Libya and the Arab League is asking for help. What would this mean when the US abstained? Think about it.

The whole world should offer help if Japan is asking for it.