Watch The Warthogs

Long War: The UN has declared a No-Fly Zone over Libya. Gaddafi immediately declared a cease-fire but actually intensified military operations, gambling that the good guys are bluffing. Some European allies said that the NFZ would be designed to protect civilians, not take down the Gaddafi regime. Hillary Clinton contradicted them and said the goal is to take Gaddafi down. If Hillary is right, then the news is very bullish; if not then the news is very bearish.
The NFZ needs to be an overpowering aerial assault on Gaddafi. A sign of this being the case would be the use of A-10 Warthog ground attack aircraft. The A-10 is not a fighter jet, it is a flying tank destroyer, a ground army's worst nightmare. We need to watch the Warthogs.
Today the 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron sent 12 Warthogs from a base in Afghanistan to a base in Portugal. This might or might not have been a routine rotation back to their home base in Georgia, USA. It would have been better if they were sent to Italy. However, we don't really know for sure whether they are going to Portugal or Italy because this news item is based on the musings of folks watching air traffic at the base in Afghanistan. The Pentagon doesn't tell us what it is doing or planning. It is very difficult at this stage to sleuth out signs that Obama means business. His speech today wasn't very encouraging since he talked about protecting civilians not eliminating the Gaddafi regime. Actions speak louder than words and Warthogs landing in Italy would be a clear sign that he is serious. Fortunately we will know if the Warthogs land there. There are already Warthogs stationed at the Avano Air Base in Italy; so we might have to simply wait and see if assets already in place are used in Libya. Besides Warthogs we need to see attack helicopters in theater.
No more jokes about Presidential stones. It is make or break time in the Long War. Weak-kneed and symbolic action will represent a huge setback in the war and it will herald the onslaught of a savage bear market. A lot needs to happen for the recent bad geopolitical news to turn around. The Libyan NFZ must be a lot more than a lame attempt to protect civilians. It must be the start of something much bigger than taking Gaddafi down. It must be the start of America taking control of the entire Rage Rebellion. It must be the start of gigantic CIA involvement in the Mideast and north Africa.
Doing what needs to be done will spell the end of Obama-Care. It will mean guns over butter. It will mean that Obama does not follow the path of LBJ and fight a war half-heartedly because he wants to save money and funnel it into massive social programs. If today's seemingly good news does not lead to all of that, then what we are seeing now is the glimmer of a false dawn.