Click on the above link and it will direct you to a Reuters story about recent developments in Libya. Once you’ve read that, read on.
Look, I agree with our 44th Commander in Chief when he tells us “when our interests and values are at stake, we have a responsibility to act.” However, at this point all we have done is give the impression that we are supporting the “rebels,” without actually doing so.
The rebels are acting with confidence, waiting for a calvary that is not on it’s way. We (the United States) need to either storm Bir al-Ghanam and eliminate Gaddafi, or we need to completely withdraw from Libya all together. We can not afford to hemorrhage more funds and families to arrogant American militarism driven by the overwhelmingly unsuccessful foreign policy attempts made by our 43rd president’s administration.
And I don’t agree with taking Gaddafi at his word either. Nobody should be negotiating with Gaddafi as if he is a legitimate leader. Any despot who has begun killing his own people has lost his mandate to govern.
But we (NATO allies) can not justify stoking further civil war by giving weapons to the rebels if we aren’t going to give them firepower that can actually do something about Gaddafi’s forces. We’re handing them pea shooters and asking them to take down an elephant. We need to hand them tanks or walk away.
This is an excellent opportunity to also point out that if we (the United States) had successfully operated, or even simply ended, either our pointless as an extra sphincter Iraq war, or our war in Afghanistan, we would have the funds and forces to actually help the rebels the way we say we would like to.
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