Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Voting Present - On Libya

Muammar Gadaffi is a brutal dictator involved in the murder of Americans and American service members. He has been known to have a weapons of mass destruction program in the past. Most recently he has ordered mercenaries to gun down protesters in his own country. Obama finally got around to saying something, even though he was much quicker to jump into the Mubarak controversy in Egypt. Thank God, five days from now, he will be sending Hillary Clinton to Geneva to discuss whether the murders might be human rights violations. I'm sure that got Gadaffi's attention.

If you recall, after the Berlin discotheque bombing in 1986 in which we had evidence of Libyan involvement, President Reagan ordered the bombing of Tripoli that almost killed Gadaffi. From Wikipedia:
The air strike killed 45 Libyan soldiers and government officials, and 15 civilians. Forewarned by a telephone call from Malta's Prime Minister, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, that unauthorized aircraft were flying over Maltese airspace heading south towards Tripoli, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his family rushed out of their residence in the Bab al-Azizia compound moments before the bombs dropped. Gaddafi escaped injury but his 15-month-old adopted daughter Hanna was killed, and two of his sons were injured.[8] However, according to Giulio Andreotti and Abdel Rahman Shalgham, it was Bettino Craxi who warned Gaddafi.
Obama could make a real impact if he merely stated that Gadaffi will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity if the carnage continues. Such a threat might reduce the violence, allegedly Obama's goal.

So whatever happened to the whole Obama hearts Reagan thing. Nothing like a real crisis to reveal a leader's true colors.

I don't think so, and what he's learned from him? Nada.

Here is what the great man himself had to say:

6 comments:

  1. Obama looks like he's just floundering right now.

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  2. as is typical, obama sounds like he is trying to avoid a lawsuit.

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  3. This is the same Reagan who ran away from Lebanon and was involved in Iran-Contra. Meh. I dont know who is worse, liberal interventionists or neocons. We cant solve every other country's problems. We cannot afford to invade everyone. We have zero influence in Libya. The Libyan people need to resolve this for the most part. We will be much better served working through other Arab allies.

    Steve

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  4. Almost forgot. Reagan was still president in 1988.

    "Again and again helicopters flew over Kurdish settlements throughout northern Iraq releasing clouds of lethal gases and leaving bodies piled in the streets.

    Then on March 16, 1988 the Iraqis flew over the Kurdish town of Halabja. Within a hour, over 5,000 innocent men, women and children died on the streets.

    Many tried to hide in basements, unaware that they would provide no protection against a chemical attack. Tens of thousands of others fled into nearby mountain caves where the deadly fumes took their lives days later.

    But this time, television cameras were there to document the tragedy. Images of bodies piled in the streets of Halabja were broadcast around the world.

    It's estimated that as many as 30,000 Kurds lost their lives to Saddam's chemical weapons."

    http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/kurds/attack.html

    Steve

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