Americans are not often heroes in the Arab world, but as nonstop celebrations unfold here in the Libyan capital I keep running into ordinary people who learn where I’m from and then fervently repeat variants of the same phrase: “Thank you, America!”
Huh. Nuanced-Americans used to say that siding with opponents of a regime we want out--let alone bombing the regime--would simply drive dissidents into the arms of the tyrant in an automatic "rally around the flag" effect. We would "taint" the opposition with our words or actions of support. And fighting to save them was idiotic, they said. That was the excuse for our inaction in 2009 when Iranians were in the streets dying at the hands of regime thugs.
And then we went and bombed a Moslem country with oil for five months, with perhaps 50,000 dead Libyans in the process (that's probably way high, but a lot died), and the people seem not at all upset with America.
I'm thinking that Syria isn't the one that should be worried about the lessons of Libya. Maybe Iran--which spit on our outstretched hand--should be the one to worry about the lessons of Libya.
UPDATE: Huh. Bring on the taint:
I don't care what they say. If we intervene, they'd rally to Assad and denounce us. That's what our anti-war Left says and it must be true.
