Khaddafi abandoned WMD programs and pledged to stop supporting terrorism out of fear that he could follow in the foot steps of Saddam Hussein, who we dragged from a spider hole and handed over to the Iraqis for trial, conviction, and execution.
It is astounding that President Obama won't come out explicitly against Khaddafi when half of Libya is in revolt against Khaddafi, including an unknown percentage of the armed forces. When will our president take a stand against a thug ruler who is no friend of ours, despite his meeker profile adopted out of fear?
Really, we have every interest in making sure Khaddafi loses rather than just watch and try to jump in front of whatever parade seems to be dominating near the end game. Because if Khaddafi wins despite his apparently extreme difficulties now, why will Khaddafi have any reason to fear us in the future?
He'd have no reason to fear us, of course. So if Khaddafi survives this crisis and then decides to return to rogue ways as the best survival strategy for the future, he'll know we will remain passive and do nothing.
After all, if we won't take a stand against Khaddafi now when he is weak, why would Khaddafi think President Obama ever would take a stand against Khaddafi?
UPDATE: Of course, Khaddafi (sheesh, I spelled his name different back then) was already "unflipping" as his fear of America waned. And don't feel guilty about acting against Khaddafi even though he flipped. As far as I was concerned, we had enough to do against jihadis and their friends that accepting a partial victory--for the moment--was enough of a victory while we worked on bigger problems. That acceptance was never an acceptance of Khaddafi, as far as I was concerned. Now that he is vulnerable and teetering, push hard.
UPDATE: More thoughts on the "flip" and why is wasn't a bad decision despite the uprising today. Although like any decision, it has consequences for us if Khaddafi loses and the formerly oppressed people don't appreciate our valid reasons
About Me
- Brian J. Dunn
- I live and write in Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan AB and MA from Eastern Michigan University. One term in the Michigan Army National Guard. Former American history instructor and retired nonpartisan research analyst. I write on Blogger and Substack. Various military and private journals have published my occasional articles on military subjects. See "My Published Works" on the TDR web version or under the mobile version drop-down menu for citations and links.
