Well, I agree with the critique of the Republicans, anyway…
In his deliberative fashion, Obama ultimately saved countless lives in the short term, and will allow the rebels in Libya to own their revolution in the long term, if they can push ahead — a big if, of course. In the meantime, the economic and diplomatic noose will tighten around Qaddafi and the people he pays to kill on his behalf.
What Obama wanted to avoid, as he discussed during that same Russert interview, was the “messianic certainty” that led President George W. Bush to start a disastrous, trillion-dollar occupation of Iraq. In putting together an international coalition, backed by a United Nations resolution and the Arab League — all in record time — Obama also pulled off a nice bit of statecraft. And, had he used another day to reach out to Congress, there would be much less criticism at home.
Still, Republicans can’t cope with a president who tries to think before he leaps. Mitt Romney, who wakes most mornings in a groggy scramble to find his principles, faults Obama for the nuance of his Libya policy. How dare the president see shades of gray instead of black and white!
Newt Gingrich first criticized Obama for not imposing a no-fly zone, but now hits him for imposing a no-fly zone. You read that right. “I would not have intervened,” Gingrich said a few days ago. This followed a statement, barely two weeks ago, where he said he would intervene “this evening.” And he now calls the air strikes over Libya the worst foreign policy blunder in his lifetime.
Overstatement and misjudgment are Gingrich’s stock in trade — two reasons why he’ll never be president. He can always be counted on to fulminate on demand, with consistency the only casualty; the subject doesn’t matter.
The real problem for Republicans is that they are perplexed over what position to take on an issue that defies partisanship. So, Obama’s least-thoughtful critics attack him for thinking.
I still think the risk/reward ratio is way out of whack here, but I’m hoping for the best. The president does pause to think things through. That’s something.
If you accept that this was by necessity a domestic political problem as well as an international strategic/moral one, Obama probably did as well as anyone could. We can talk about principle, law, precedent, and the odds all we want to, but the reality at home is that amid the euphoria that followed the Tunisian and Egyptian wins, the US staying out of the heartbreaking carnage in Libya was impossible.
I don’t see the end game in this case, but with a little luck and resolve on the part of Obama, there’s a chance that everyone except Gaddafi could come out of this better off than they would have if the revolution and the reaction had been ignored. Without a little luck, it could just follow the sorry plot of VietNam or Iraq. There’s really not much more to do now than hope Gaddafi sees where his real interests lie and leaves the country.
I think Obama did the right thing. I think he should have done it a week earlier, but at least he did it. I agree with many on this site that there is a very real danger of escalation and/or permanent military presence here. Nevertheless, it is morally wrong to stand by while a tyrant bombs and strafes civilian protesters. We would stand equally guilty if we turned our backs when we had the power to stop the attacks. To me, this is the same moral question as the case of Kitty Genovese, so long ago. Yes, a militant Islamic anti-US government might result. Yes, we might get sucked into sending ground troops and repeating Somalia. We need to exercise restraint and avoid hubris, something politicians are not good at.
I see this whole revolt in the Middle East as akin to the French and Russian Revolutions. The analogs of the Reign of Terror and the Soviet Purges may result. The equivalents of Robespierre and Stalin may emerge. But, ultimately, the People have revolted against a totally corrupt and dehumanizing system of government. Ultimately something better will come. We can stand with the People or we can stand with the dictators. Turning our backs is standing with the dictators. But they must free themselves. We cannot do it for them. We can only make it possible.
Forgot to say, the spectacle of a president who thinks is still so shocking and delightful that I can’t totally give up on him despite a bunch of disappointments. When you look at the long list of Rep wannabes there’s not a single one of them with the equipment to make continue this novel behavior.
MIC pwns the rest of the government. The rest is details.
Obama is intelligent. This sets some people off into tantrums.
Are the Republicans doing ANYTHING at this point to make themselves more popular with anyone but themselves? I think we may have reached the stage where they are simply preaching to their choir of 25-percenters and slowly, relentlessly, pissing everybody else off. What do y’all think?