UK Military Advisors going to Libya - What does this mean?

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the UK is sending military advisors to Libya. Without rehashing every other conflict throughout history that this brings to mind....like Lafayette's "military advisors" in a little North American war...or a few more recent conflicts in various conflicts around the world in places that end in "-ia", or "-ua", or "-nam", or "istan;" ironically, it appears that whatever people say about the French, their military advisors seem to be more effective than some other countries'. If only they were so good on the other end of things - ay, de mi Điện Biên Phủ.
Well, it seems like this is one more revolution brought to you by the combined might of Uncle Sam and John Bull; let's just hope that their respective governments realize what they're getting into. 


In an inspired critique of the situation from zhgun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0i9acHS_zQ

Thoughts On For-Internal-Consumption-Only Foreign Policy

There has been a lot of speculation on the instigating factors for the current Korea situation. As with everything to do with North Korea, there are multiple theories - some sources indicate that the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong was instigated by a live-fire exercise the South was executing in disputed waters (within earshot of the Northern mainland). Others propose that this attack was used as an opportunity for Kim's heir apparent, Kim Jung-un, who holds the rank of a 4-star general but has very little military experience, to show his mettle. Both these theories are predicated upon the siege mentality attested to in North Korean culture by defectors, and to the idea of using foreign policy to alter domestic opinion. 


This brings to mind other exercises in foreign policy that have been driven primarily by domestic concerns. For instance, the regular "Death to America" coke-pouring protests that Iran used to spur nationalist feeling before important events, or the renaming of French Fries to "Freedom Fries" by the US Senate.