The Associated Press fact checks President Obama's speech on Libya and is surprisingly skeptical. This is especially interesting because it gets to the heart of the difference between Obama the candidate and Obama the chief executive:
OBAMA: "Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action."
THE FACTS: Mass violence against civilians has also been escalating elsewhere, without any U.S. military intervention anticipated.
More than 1 million people have fled the Ivory Coast, where the U.N. says forces loyal to the incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, have used heavy weapons against the population and more than 460 killings have been confirmed of supporters of the internationally recognized president, Alassane Ouattara.
The Obama administration says Gbagbo and Gadhafi have both lost their legitimacy to rule. But only one is under attack from the U.S.
Presidents typically pick their fights according to the crisis and circumstances at hand, not any consistent doctrine about when to use force in one place and not another. They have been criticized for doing so - by Obama himself.
Presidents may not always act according to a "consistent doctrine" but they do usually try to articulate one that defines their approach to foreign policy and how to act in America's best interests, especially when force might be called for. A lot of people didn't care much for the Bush doctrine, but we all knew what it was.
Don't think the president got the job done last night.
Comments
Leo:
Yeah, I'd call it "a swing and a miss".
;)
Give a kid a hot rod, and he's going to take it for a spin, and see what it will do on the open highway.
We currently spend more on our military than all other countries in the world, combined. We haven't had a president since Ike that hasn't been tempted to take 'er out for a spin, and see what our military can do on the open highway.
Whether you like or dislike Barack's speech, it was pretty easy for me to grasp what he was saying. "Hey, it's MY turn to get us involved in something stupid and kill a bunch of our kids."
Personally, I like the Monroe Doctrine better. I don't think it fair that General Motors and Ford employees should be taxed to provide military welfare for the people who make Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, Datsun, BMW, and all those other companies that are trying their hardest to send American car industry workers home on permanent layoff.
I myself do not care for Obama, but I have to admit I think he acted quickly. If we compare him to Bush Sr and the first Gulf War, Obabma was quicker. Bush Sr. did not finish the job and Bush Jr went back in and did. Bush and Clinton fooled around with a no fly zone, allowed Sadam to kill his own people (people who asked for our help) and finally in 2002 when we go back, the people who would have supported us were dead or feared our word was worthless.
Vietnam was a mess, panama, and that little island country as well.
In this one I support Obama.
In 1776 we had a revolution that lasted years. We asked for help and finally the French aided us. After the revolution, we did not have a constitution. It took ten years and not all agreed with it. The promising aspect now is that the US Constitution is at least a reference for these countries and hopefully elections and the passage of a constitution by these people will not take nearly as long as it took the United States.
William, aren't you ever the optimist:
"The promising aspect now is that the US Constitution is at least a reference for these countries and hopefully elections and the passage of a constitution by these people will not take nearly as long as it took the United States."
They may be a little slow on that whole constitution thingy, what with that ol' "bury people up to their neck & stone them to death" habit being such a "fave" in most of those countries.
I see your point Tim and it is a good point. I am optimistic that after thousands of years being ruled by kings, dictators and other things that the small amount of education and the cell phone will allow people to educate themselves by discussing things. Hopefully the majority will see the light and win. If not are we any worse off?
They obviously took the one individual who set himself on fire as a world wide wake up call. This one act some how transformed themselves from following the person in front of them, head down, saying nothing, doing what they were told to do.
Time will tell if this was a good choice and I hope to live long enough to find out.