Thursday, March 31, 2011

Yikes

VDH pours it on against Obama's intervention in Libya.

I'm pretty confused. I guess now the administration is saying we're just creating a no-fly zone implying Qaddafi can stay so long as he doesn't bomb rebels. Oh boy. It's pretty clear we aren't sure what we want. Maybe we are concerned that we don't really know who these rebels are - reputedly they have Islamicist elements.

Still, I'm one of those in favor of getting rid of dudes like Qaddafi, betting the unknown rather than the known. Even with the question of: what if the rebels are worse? Eventually Qaddafi or his successors will need to go - ruling regimes like that are unsustainable. So eventually we will need to deal with the vacuum of power, so might as well face it when there is momentum to do something about it and nudge it in the right direction. It's when we get caught flat-footed, like in the Iranian Revolution when things go to shit.

Ironies abound in this decision by Obama. The Republicans are going to have a field day, especially if Qaddafi survives and ends up empowered and confident having withstood Western bombing.

You gotta have clear aims if you're going to war. Give Bush a little credit on the Iraq thing - at least we knew what we were there to do.

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