He used the Gulf War model of joint international forces against a dictator that had no strong ties to the Middle East or Africa. This model US international relations used to be called "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Time will tell if taking out all these strongmen was a good idea or not.

Taking out Assad seems like the next step in the Arab Spring, but like Saddam, Qaddafi, and Mubarak, rival factions and radical Islam was kept in check through the heavy hand of the dictator. The power vacuum invites theocracy and training grounds for radical Islam to take root and poison these countries.

snuff3r: Americans taking credit for something. This is new!

coco ebert: Ah yes, it's all Obama's doing. The Libyans had nothing to do with it. *eye roll*

/dnrtfa
//but subby's headline annoys me

Indeed.

We did enough and no more. I'll repeat that. We did enough and no more.

We have gotten the result we wanted without any loss of American life and at a fraction of a percent of the cost of Iraq or Afghanistan. Conservatives and even some liberals have complaint about Obama putting us into 3, 4, 5 wars in addition to Iraq. You know what? If they have the same costs and results of our work in Libya, I would rather have 50 wars like that then just two Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Libyans did all the work? Well, we helped, and enforcing the NATO policies kept the rebels from being completely crushed in the early stages of the war. And we got what we wanted at very, very small expense.

Obama didn't lead troops to march into Quadafi's home and shoot him. He did, however, make the decisions that led to us getting what we wanted at a tiny fraction of what Iraq or Afghanistan are still costing.

dopeydwarf: /Agrees.

What does Sam Houston have to do with this?

AverageAmericanGuy: Time will tell if taking out all these strongmen was a good idea or not.

Taking out Assad seems like the next step in the Arab Spring, but like Saddam, Qaddafi, and Mubarak, rival factions and radical Islam was kept in check through the heavy hand of the dictator. The power vacuum invites theocracy and training grounds for radical Islam to take root and poison these countries.

Many Brits do feel the world has never been right since that whole 'American Independence' unpleasantness.

I thought it was the Yankees.

Occam's Chainsaw: vygramul: The US would not have won the Revolution without France.

You're catching on.

It also helped that Paul Revere rang church bells and warned the British about our guns.

/sorry, couldn't resist

Where's the appended "miss me yet?" demotivator?

/posting from phone, too hard to do myself

Nina_Hartley's_Ass: I thought it was the Yankees.

No, that year it was the Dodgers.

AverageAmericanGuy: The power vacuum invites theocracy

Invites? It looks like it's already grabbed the reins

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/23/calls-for-investigation-as-a ut opsy-reveals-qaddafi-died-from-gunshot-to-head/ (new window)

"The transitional government leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil set out a vision for the post-Qaddafi future with an Islamist tint, saying that Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation in the country and that existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified."

serial_crusher: Wasn't going around toppling dictators who hadn't done anything to us a bad thing during the Bush Administration?

Actually, the "bad thing" was getting involved in a ground war in a country roughly five times the size of Libya based on specious intelligence and blatant lies about Saddam Hussein's involvement with the 9/11 attacks.

The same people that are giving Obama a beej over this are the ones that were complaining about opening a third theater of war(or third quagmire). As always, hangers-on will do as they do

NewportBarGuy: [i52.tinypic.com image 420x277]

"President Obama had nothing to do with toppling Douchebag Quadbike. The brave sailors of the United States Navy voluntarily took their ships, submarines, and planes to the Med. The cruise missiles left their silos with a device created by Real Americans™ so seek out evildoers and secure freedom for the Islamic heathens of Libya. Which will now be a terrorist safe-haven and launch daily attacks on the American Homeland. I just want to thank France and Germany for coddling our enemies and proving that socialism doesn't work."

Thanks. That article seemed too long to read. It more or less confirms what they are saying on the radio that Obama's intervention in Libya has created more instability in that region, not less.

serial_crusher: Wasn't going around toppling dictators who hadn't done anything to us a bad thing during the Bush Administration?

Err, Lockerbie?

Delay: NewportBarGuy: [i52.tinypic.com image 420x277]

"President Obama had nothing to do with toppling Douchebag Quadbike. The brave sailors of the United States Navy voluntarily took their ships, submarines, and planes to the Med. The cruise missiles left their silos with a device created by Real Americans™ so seek out evildoers and secure freedom for the Islamic heathens of Libya. Which will now be a terrorist safe-haven and launch daily attacks on the American Homeland. I just want to thank France and Germany for coddling our enemies and proving that socialism doesn't work."

Thanks. That article seemed too long to read. It more or less confirms what they are saying on the radio that Obama's intervention in Libya has created more instability in that region, not less.

"They"?

bhcompy: The same people that are giving Obama a beej over this are the ones that were complaining about opening a third theater of war(or third quagmire). As always, hangers-on will do as they do

Do you believe the US is now in a quagmire in Libya?

HighOnCraic: serial_crusher: Wasn't going around toppling dictators who hadn't done anything to us a bad thing during the Bush Administration?

Actually, the "bad thing" was getting involved in a ground war in a country roughly five times the size of Libya based on specious intelligence and blatant lies about Saddam Hussein's involvement with the 9/11 attacks.

Iraq - total area 438,317 sq km

Libya - total area 1,759,541 km

five times the size of what now?

Bloody William: We did enough and no more. I'll repeat that. We did enough and no more.

We have gotten the result we wanted without any loss of American life and at a fraction of a percent of the cost of Iraq or Afghanistan. Conservatives and even some liberals have complaint about Obama putting us into 3, 4, 5 wars in addition to Iraq. You know what? If they have the same costs and results of our work in Libya, I would rather have 50 wars like that then just two Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Libyans did all the work? Well, we helped, and enforcing the NATO policies kept the rebels from being completely crushed in the early stages of the war. And we got what we wanted at very, very small expense.

Obama didn't lead troops to march into Quadafi's home and shoot him. He did, however, make the decisions that led to us getting what we wanted at a tiny fraction of what Iraq or Afghanistan are still costing.



I agree on all points. Of course President Obama didn't personally jump in the mix, but he made critical decisions that worked -- and he has done so, successfully, on numerous occasions. At this point, any organizations looking to hurt America had better think twice. We have an intelligent President who doesn't lose his cool and make dumb decisions.

The dude is 2 - 0

The congressmen were stunned. "It wasn't a consultation," recalls one staffer. "It was an announcement." Sen. Richard Lugar, a Republican known for his bipartisanship and his expertise on foreign policy, was particularly incensed. He launched into a volley of tough questions: Who's going to pay for the war? How much is it going to cost? What does it mean to Iran, Syria? Clinton and Gates were both present, but the answers they gave didn't satisfy the senator. "They punted all those issues," says a source with direct knowledge of the meeting.

fark you Lugar, fark you so hard. NO ONE in your party has the right to ask that. You sacks of shiat. You didn't care about Afghanistan or Iraq with cost FAR more then Libya.

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: AverageAmericanGuy: The power vacuum invites theocracy

Invites? It looks like it's already grabbed the reins

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/23/calls-for-investigation-as-a ut opsy-reveals-qaddafi-died-from-gunshot-to-head/ (new window)

"The transitional government leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil set out a vision for the post-Qaddafi future with an Islamist tint, saying that Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation in the country and that existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified."


Why aren't those stupid Lybians choosing an American-style fundamentalist Christian theocracy??!!?

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: HighOnCraic: serial_crusher: Wasn't going around toppling dictators who hadn't done anything to us a bad thing during the Bush Administration?

Actually, the "bad thing" was getting involved in a ground war in a country roughly five times the size of Libya based on specious intelligence and blatant lies about Saddam Hussein's involvement with the 9/11 attacks.

Iraq - total area 438,317 sq km

Libya - total area 1,759,541 km

five times the size of what now?

Sorry, I meant population-wise.

Iraq
Population - 2011 estimate 30,399,572[1] (36th)


Libya
Population - 2011 estimate 6.6 million[3][4] (102nd

HighOnCraic: Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: HighOnCraic: serial_crusher: Wasn't going around toppling dictators who hadn't done anything to us a bad thing during the Bush Administration?

Actually, the "bad thing" was getting involved in a ground war in a country roughly five times the size of Libya based on specious intelligence and blatant lies about Saddam Hussein's involvement with the 9/11 attacks.

Iraq - total area 438,317 sq km

Libya - total area 1,759,541 km

five times the size of what now?

Sorry, I meant population-wise.

Iraq
Population - 2011 estimate 30,399,572[1] (36th)


Libya
Population - 2011 estimate 6.6 million[3][4] (102nd

Ahhh ok. Thought maybe my recollection of geography was getting even worse.

Of course removing Qaddafi was a mistake. Intervention in Libya will only result in anti-American sentiment...

Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: HighOnCraic: Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude: HighOnCraic: serial_crusher: Wasn't going around toppling dictators who hadn't done anything to us a bad thing during the Bush Administration?

Actually, the "bad thing" was getting involved in a ground war in a country roughly five times the size of Libya based on specious intelligence and blatant lies about Saddam Hussein's involvement with the 9/11 attacks.

Iraq - total area 438,317 sq km

Libya - total area 1,759,541 km

five times the size of what now?

Sorry, I meant population-wise.

Iraq
Population - 2011 estimate 30,399,572[1] (36th)


Libya
Population - 2011 estimate 6.6 million[3][4] (102nd

Ahhh ok. Thought maybe my recollection of geography was getting even worse.

No worries, I should've phrased it better.

So, I'm taking the over-under as to how soon Libya adopts Sharia Law.

I give them 6 weeks.