Libya... Where do I begin? For years Quddafi was regarded as a good example for dictators around the world. He was becoming friendly with the leaders of the western world; he was supposedly not funding terrorism anymore etc. But then his people started protesting and he couldn't handle it. So he came up with a brilliant idea lets BOMB THEM!!! I am sure that will shut them up. Ohh wait... The entire world is now angry at me. Cue civil war...
Quddafi's actions have been condemned internationally and yet the nations of the world have been reluctant to formally state that Quddafi should be removed from power. I for one do not understand it. The entire world has ganged up against Quddafi and we are currently flying over Libya, bombing Quddafi's tanks but in spite of all this, we aren't officially "at war" against Quddafi.
Somehow NATO and the U.N. have convinced themselves they can bomb Quddafi's forces and STILL claim to be impartial. The most ironic thing is that France and Italy are the first nations to formally state that Quddafi must go. FRANCE AND ITALY? When was the last time that France and Italy took the lead role in any foreign policy issues? Meanwhile, the United States has waffled on the issue.
President Obama has stated that we must protect Human Rights in Libya but he unfortunately seems to be ignoring the logical conclusion of this goal. The only way to TRULY uphold Human Rights is to ensure that Quddafi is brought to justice in a court setting reminiscent of the Nuremberg trials. If the United States wants to be able to claim that they are still the leader of the free world, then we have a duty not to make non-committal statement. We have a duty to protect the Human Rights of the people of Libya, no matter the cost or the commitment.
Will this be hard to implement practically? Yes. It will cost money and American lives, but it is the only way for the United States to live up to the goal that President Obama has set out for us.
