Flag Pin Speech.

or, Be Careful What You Wish For...

Two sentences jumped out to this ear:

Of course, there is no question that Libya – and the world – will be better off with Gaddafi out of power.

I beg to differ: of course there's that question. If you don't understand this, you don't understand the roots of many who object to this latest pre-emptive military action. What if... nevermind protecting people and promising them "freedom from fear", we not only fail to prevent reprisals against innocent people who otherwise would not have been targeted, but ... what if what replaces the Gaddafi regime is indeed worse for a good majority of the Libyan people?

Isn't that a forseeable outcome that should be considered in our calculations as well?

Look here:
We're* only on the sidelines now, observing that even the young appealing "leaders" of the homegrown Egyptian uprising are now being shoved gently to the side, replaced by theocrats from the Muslim Brotherhood as well as the military that served under PM Hosni Mubarek all those years.

If you don't understand that what ends up in power in Libya might indeed be worse -- for the Libyan people, that is -- than crazy man Gaddafi, then you don't understand much really. Nor are American military or intelligence leaders stating that this was a vital American interest. Again, who knows?, let's not underestimate the powers that might rise in this void, because it seems the rebels there are ill-equipped to immediately govern themselves democratically, in an organized fashion. I mean, please, without American and NATO airpower not only creating a no-fly zone, but also bombing their government troops, it's doubtful this ragtag group of rebels woud have succeeded in ... pulling down a statute of the dictator now on the outs internationally, much less succeeding in replacing him with something better.

I bet there are old people in the Libyan population -- suffering from life-threatening illnesses, say -- who would have fared better in a stable, life-as-they-knew-it continuation than they will now fare in the vacuum we have helped create. And sorry, this artificial transfer of power, with claims that America now only shares a portion of the coalition responsibility in what's to come, is just verbiage. We created the instability; we owe them better than what many of us out here wisely, and perhaps naturally (realistically?) see coming: months and years of insecurity, instability, and inhumane treatment that will definitely come in the wake of disruption and destruction that our allied actions have now created on the ground...

Just because our troops, nor our media I suspect, will be there on the ground to follow up, doesn't mean that the Libyan people are not waking up now to food shortages, communications disruptions, and the everyday blows to daily life that dropping all that expensive arsenal naturally creates...

Onto the second sentence that jumped out, just minutes after the first:

I have made it clear that I will never hesitate to use our military swiftly, decisively, and unilaterally when necessary to defend our people, our homeland, our allies, and our core interests. That is why we are going after al Qaeda wherever they seek a foothold. That is why we continue to fight in Afghanistan, even as we have ended our combat mission in Iraq and removed more than 100,000 troops from that country.

(*pretending I'm in the news pool tomorrow*) Mr. President, Mr. President... over here!

(*once called upon*) How do you reconcile that promise, this time to the American people concerning their immediate safety and freedom from consequence, with the intelligence we've seen, or the basic commonsense understanding that ... when you aerial bomb a country to take out their existing government, infrastructure and current cultural networks, it really is a breeding ground for "bad guys", such as al Qaeda troops to infiltrate society and press their own agendas? Do you see any conflict in your al Qaeda promise above, and your arrogant assumption above that "Of course, there is no question that Libya – and the world – will be better off with Gaddafi out of power."

If conditions become ripe -- on the ground -- as a breeding ground for al Qaeda now, (remember Gaza after Arafat was killed, a preferred government ruled temporarily before Hamas was voted in?) might you rethink your assurances of ... Anybody but Gaddafi.




As he stood up there, our newest American president (meet the new boss, same as the old boss?), reading mightily from his teleprompter with his flag pin pinned prominently on the lapel, I couldn't help but thinking: it's the same moral arrogance as GWB, pre-emptively acting with assurances that we are not only doing the right thing but deserve commendations for being so brave, and providing such help. ("I'm from the (American) government; I'm here to help you.")

Wise people on the ground, the Libyan people themselves will wait and see, and take measure on what they've lost, and what precious little I suspect they'll gain. But then, this president never did explain why we had an obligation to prevent this promised slaughter, over another ethnicity in another geopolitical region, say. I'll re-read, but my ear for these things is usually good, and I missed the distinction on that point...

Nor did he address, not that I was suspecting it, those more hardcore critics who strongly believe that there's a contingent of Zionists (representing a pro-pro-pro Israel angle) within both parties of the American government, helping to overwhelmingly shape policy in that region for our allies prime interests too.

Let's just please stop with the -- intending to be -- heartfelt sentiments how this is all about the people in Libya, doing what they need to be done today, and helping or defending them and especially their innocents, rather than waiting and realizing that sometimes the best actions indeed are no intervening foreign actions that artificially disrupt the balance of power.

Better off keeping our nose to ourselves, with less American help all around over the decades, and letting time play out, with a wait-and-see maturity. If only we'd listened much, much sooner to such long-term voices, and stopped or never began manipulating foreign governments on America's economic and energy interests ... something tells me we wouldn't see all this crippling dictatorships we were so keen on in the first place.




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*We Americans.