The general reaction I have from my friends reaching me through Libya and Egypt is that Obama has handled this fairly well. They didn’t want outside guns. They wanted legitimacy. And they’ve got it. The guns from Egypt wouldn’t be there (Egypt is not outside), without the US saying ‘yes, please, do that.’ The no fly zone wouldn’t be there without the US. They want to fight for their freedom, and not have it imposed from above. The US has this rep for breaking shit, you know?
As far as I can tell, from the PoV of Joe Middle Eastern Rebel, the US is doing the right thing here. Be the French in our own Revolution. Give advice. Give guns. Level the playing field a bit, perhaps. Lift the heavy diplomatic weights. But let them fight for freedom.
It is obvious that Obama played it perfectly. He did not “cowboy” it alone. He did not make too much noise but worked behind the scenes in the UN. He got other countries to commit including Arab countries. It could not have been done better.
Anecdotal though it may be, I’m glad to hear that.
The inability of many in the US to learn from, much less even identify, the lessons from prior (mis)adventures is saddening. And the arrogance required to consistently advocate for our intervention is simply astounding.
Eh. His Dad encouraged the Kurds and the Marsh Arabs to revolt against Saddam, then sat on his hands not lifting a finger while they were massacred by a horrid, delusional tin-pot dictator.
Years later, he himself intervened against that dictator. The jury’s still out on exactly how many people were massacred in that intervention, but it was ugly.
If the current prez has been deliberately stalling the Security Council (and what conservative portrays the UN as a paragon of decisive action?) he just got his hat handed to him: U.N. chief calls on Gadhafi to ‘cease all hostilities’
I for one am glad Obama didn’t attempt this unilaterally. He really covered his international diplomatic bases, which is a good thing overall. It takes more effort and time, but in the long run is much better.
How about having cheaper heating fuel by allowing more coal, oil, and natural gas mining. We don’t have to spend a dime to do that. Plus Iraq has proved to be a victory for the US and democracy.
I don’t think the problem is that there isn’t enough heating oil or coal, it’s that Republicans cater to the wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class.
As for Iraqlife there took a downturn in every way after you conquered it. Waving your little flag doesn’t change that. I’ll mark you down as the sort of pro-lifer who will support invading countries under false pretenses and getting hundreds of thousands killed so long as it makes you feel good and lets you wave your little flag.
Iraq is a democracy currently and no longer under a brutal dictator and tyrant. Violence has ended thanks to George W Bush’s defiance of public opinion and Congress to pull out as soon as things got “bad” and instead to implement a “Surge” strategy.
Alright, violence has not “ended” in the sense that there is no murder, attack, or shooting in Iraq, but it is a manageable state now, and no longer in borderline civil war conditions.