Senator John F. Kerry (D-Who Served in Vietnam) is for the war in Libya. He even thinks promoting a democratic transition in the Arab world is a good thing. Mr. President, beware.
Not that Kerry is wrong. Heck, I'll count myself amongst your supporters on Libya even though I would have preferred we had intervened more quietly (no mentions that Khaddafi "has to go") and early with special forces and covert aid (and logstics support for France, Italy, and Britain to use their militaries) rather than taking even a temporary lead in the military campaign. But despite my misgivings, I'll be in your corner longer than your more high profile backer. And I won't switch on democracy promotion when the going gets tough to argue that Arabs just can't handle freedom.
The Obama administration just shouldn't take too much comfort from the good senator's backing. Kerry once supported the Iraq War, too.
Just watch your back, Mr. President. Or win fast. Senator Kerry already qualified his support by saying we shouldn't get involved in a long conflict in another Moslem country. That's right, he's already telegraphing his expiration date. Don't ever forget that eventually this particular Senate supporter will report for duty. You can point to this opinion piece all you want as evidence he backed you, but it won't matter--and he won't be shamed at all. That's how he rolls.
That's all I'm saying. Watch your back.
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.
