10 Observations On The Death of Quaddafi
Observations in the wake of the death of Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi:
* The victory of middle-class professionals, rag-tag militias and tribal forces over a well-equipped, well-trained military in a relatively brief civil war is enormous.
* Given the many conflicting stories, a full accounting of the circumstances surrounding the despot’s death is mandatory.
* Lost in the hubbub was that Gaddafi’s feared son Mutassim also was killed.
* Beyond divvying up the spoils of civil war and sharing the oil wealth, the most important job of the transitional government will be to reconcile the many factions, including the Islamists and secularists.
* While the road the Arab Spring takes will remain rocky, new energy has been injected into the movement to replace kings and despots with democracy.
* Yemen, which has been wrenched by crackdowns on protesters, may be the next Middle Eastern country to fall because, like Libya, it has a weak state and strong tribal loyalties. Jordan is likely to follow Yemen.
* European power, too often absent in the war on terror and regional conflicts requiring international intervention, was felt, with France and Great Britain taking leadership roles.
* The Republican Party, once the dominant voice in foreign policy matters, stood silently on the sidelines except when criticizing the commander in chief.
* The contrast between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who seems to be everywhere, and her Bush administration predecessor, who seemed to be nowhere, is striking
* The Obama Doctrine, a hybrid of limited intervention and conventional warfare with collective rather than unilateral action and heavy reliance on drones, succeeded admirably. There was not a single American death.
9 Responses to “10 Observations On The Death of Quaddafi”
The picture is Sana’a. Looks like south Sana’a.
These “revolutions” we are seeing in the arab world may very well not go our way in the end. I suspect most, if not all, of them will go the way of Somalia rather than become any sort of democracy.
1. never would have happened without NATO air support. They did the job on the ground (with CIA assistance), but the air support was essential.
2. Why? he was shot in the head. What more could you possibly need to know?
3. Not really. Most news sources, at least in Germany and Europe, mention his death also.
4. Totally!
5. Yep!
6. Jordan? Doubt it.
7. Cheers to France for stepping up with Germany wouldn’t… strictly for election reasons.
8. True.
9. Well, it isn’t like Dick’s appearances where worthwhile anyway.
10. Yep. Although, does every President have to have a doctrine?
As for “Not a single American death”….
It was a spook operation. We may never know.
* The Republican Party, once the dominant voice in foreign policy matters, stood silently on the sidelines except when criticizing the commander in chief.
Traditional anti-war and pacifistic voices also stood silently on the sidelines except when they could do victory dances.
Yea DaGoat but it was the GOP that was all lined up saying how Obama was making a huge mistake when he was doing everything right. Says a lot about the GOP leadership’s inability to either spot a good plan when they see one, or to simply line up to oppose democracy because they see it as politically detrimental to their election chances.
slamfu I think the GOP is/was hypocritical on this and tried to use the issue to their partisan advantage. I have no doubt that if it had been GWB taking action against Libya the GOP wold have supported it wholeheartedly.
Shaun and I had a good discussion when this all started in which both of us had mixed feelings. Both of us recognized Qaddafi was a bad guy and deserved to go, but we also questioned whether this was an appropriate thing for the US to be doing.
Now the concerns have been discarded and have been replaced by an attitude that the ends justify the means. Further I see people who were concerned about Saddam Hussein’s ability to get a fair trial and who criticized his execution are now happy to see Qaddafi beaten and murdered on the hood of a SUV.
“an appropriate thing for the US to be doing”
I still have yet to understand how anyone could have been against giving the rebels air and strategical support.
After all of the terrible things we have done to the arab world…why not do some good?
DG, you got it right: “Traditional anti-war and pacifistic voices also stood silently on the sidelines except when they could do victory dances.”
Not one pacifist protest, not a peep, for our Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Pure political BS.
Shannon, people could try to use that justification for just about any action they think is going to do some good. It’s a dangerous road to go down.