-War is the continuation of diplomacy by other means--Carl von Clausewitz
While Republicans debate who mowed whose lawn, and compete on who can treat Latinos with the most disdain, President Barack Obama demonstrated -- once,again -- that an intelligent, thoughtful approach to foreign policy, and its military component, is far superior in ultimate results and costs and casualties than ideologically-driven bluster, designed to puff up the manhood and political fortunes of those who dream up wars to send other peoples' children to fight.
Moreover, the president may well have created a new formula for U.S. foreign policy -- assemble allies, touch the right bases so as to avoid negative long-term consequences, recognize the limits of your power... and, yes, "lead from behind". Of course, it will not work in all circumstances -- but to criticize when it can, and does, work shows just how infantile Republicans are.
It is almost comical that Mitt Romney -- whose military experience may best be characterized as "leading by running away" -- attacks the entire concept of leading from behind. It saves lives, money, increases the chances of success and improves staying power.
Romney, a total phony, trying to burnish his neocon credentials, somehow thinks that the U.S. should always be out-front, risking U.S. lives, spending U.S. money, and demonstrating disdain for others' opinions. This from a man who went to France on a mission for his church during Vietnam, claiming to wish to be among his comrades fighting there, and then returning and never, ever, volunteering for the war. This from a man who preaches leadership -- but has never exerted enough leadership to get a single one of his 5 sons to volunteer for Iraq or Afghanistan.
The other Republican contenders were, for the most part, even more ridiculous than Romney. Gingrich first announced that he would declare a no-fly zone immediately -- no allies, no Arab league endorsement, no UN -- and risk U.S. citizens who were in Libya. Instead, the president waited to ensure that U.S. citizens were evacuated first, so they would not be killed, used as hostages or used as human shields. Imagine how complicated every battlefield decision would have been had the President followed Gingrich's prescription.
But, if you do not like that, then just wait. Once the president decided he should act -- along with allies, UN agreement, Arab league encouragement -- Gingrich was now totally opposed to any intervention at all. In the space of a few weeks! And that man is running for president on the grounds that he has "substance".
Very few Congressional Republicans supported the president's actions. To a person, they complained about leading from behind. They, of course, would have been very happy to send other peoples' children to fight, or not engage at all. Moreover, not a single one ever criticized Bush and Cheney for being asleep at the switch for 9/11, never even calling a meeting to discuss terrorist threats when the CIA director was begging them to do so.
And, what do the Libyan people think of America for having done this, and the way the president did it?
They love us! Perhaps Dick Cheney (whose also believed in "leadership by running away") was right about being us greeted with flowers and dancing, he just had the wrong country -- and the wrong president.
If Libya's oil infrastructure can be repaired, Libya can generate sufficient revenues to pay for -- not U.S. taxpayers -- reconstruction of their country. One might suspect that U.S. firms, with President Obama's support, could be a substantial part of that.
At the 1984 Republican convention Ronald Reagan was praised to the heavens for invading Grenada -- after tuck-tailing-and-running out of Lebanon where he lost more than 200 marines in a single terrorist attack. His pal, Senator Paul Laxalt, exclaimed, "he stood 10-feet tall, 10-feet tall".
I would like to see Democrats, now, today, lambasting Republicans for their waffling, for their inconsistent leadership, and for not giving America the credit it deserves. Not just once, but over-and-over-and-over again.
If Reagan stood 10' tall for defeating the island nation of Grenada, then they cannot build the 2012 convention ceiling high enough to contain President Obama for his brilliant foreign policy that toppled a 42-year dictatorship, cost 1/500th of the cost of Iraq, and did not lose a single American soldier.
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"If Libya's oil infrastructure can be repaired, Libya can generate sufficient revenues to pay for -- not U.S. taxpayers -- reconstruction of their country. One might suspect that U.S. firms, with President Obama's support, could be a substantial part of that."
It's all about the natural resources.
Lord I hope not. Halliburton has had enough war profiteering for one century.
And I'm not speaking in a dictatorial way, but with a Congress that really had this country's best interest at heart. We'd be unstoppable.
Oddly there is silence from the same people who assailed Bush after he got congressional approval to go into Iraq. You know, it is unconstitutional. If fact I think Obama voted against it. But, we had UN approval to go into Libya and that is all this regime needs.
Good news is that we are leaving Iraq. What is not being released by this White House is this information from the NYTimes, October 21, 2011:
"In 2008, Iraq and the United States signed a status of forces agreement, negotiated in the last days of the Bush administration, that called for the withdrawal of all American troops by the end of 2011."
So if I am against the destruction of Libya I am anti-Obama, racist or just jealous because the Republicans were not such good killers.
Guess what peeps, I can't stand Republicans, I am simply anti-war and have been for a long time.
You sir need to rethink everything you wrote. 20,000 surface to air missiles are now in the hands of Al-Qaueda. So before you cheer think about that. These are not RPG's these things are hundreds of times more dangerous. They can take out a jet up to 16,000 feet. Not to mention that the "Rebels" are horrible. They too are going to be worse than Gadaffi ever was. This was a nation that was ranked #1 in terms of standards of living. What will it be now?
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare. It is used to distinguish whether the country is a developed, a developing or an under-developed country, and also to measure the impact of economic policies on quality of life.
High Human Development
Rank Country HDI World rank
1 Libya 0.755 53
2 Mauritius 0.701 72
3 Tunisia 0.683 81
4 Algeria 0.677 84
Although I doubt it will ever be this well off again.
Ps. he is now at 41% in the polls and slipping fast.
Too long for a campaign slogan or a bumper sticker, but one helluva platform to run on.