RAND: Opinion: Christopher S. Chivvis: Libya, The Somalia on The Mediterranean?

RAND Corporation: Opinion: Christopher S. Chivvis: Libya, The Somalia on The Mediterranean

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

Unlike the War in Iraq, America and Europe went into the Libya and knocked out the Gadaffi Regime and let the Libyan rebels take over to try to build their own government and society for the people. Iraq of course is much different where America by itself went in and knocked out the Hussein Regime and tried to establish a new state itself and then brought in the Iraqi people. The thing about Libya is that new government wasn’t prepared to govern and defend their own country. Plus the new government had Islamists authoritarian ties that moderate Libyans didn’t want to be part of and as a result a new civil war has broken out.

Libya as a failed state is not in the best interest of the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. Especially in that part of the world where ISIS is already in Libya. That country with only six-million people, but with a lot of land the size of Algeria and Saudi Arabia, a large country would be disaster for the Democratic West if it were allowed to become a terrorist state. Which means America, Europe and the Arab League should step up and try to reestablish order in that country and allow for the Libyan people to go in and try to establish a new state that will represent the Libyan people as a whole. Not just the Islamists or the Democrats, but the whole country.

Which is why I would be in favor of an international force involving the United States with NATO, the European Union and Arab League to go into that country with a peacekeeping force while Libyans with democratic and responsible intentions go in and either work with current Libyan Government in Tripoli and build a new Libyan state that can govern and defend the entire country, or replace the current regime with a more democratic oriented that will work to bring peace to the country. Instead of trying to eliminate the opposition. And you could send in people from the United Nations, European Union, Arab League and even U.S. Foreign Service to help Libya develop a government and state that represents and governs the whole country.

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BBC News: HardTalk- Abdul Mawgoud Dardery: Freedom and Justice Party

Source:BBC News– Abdul Mawgoud Dardery from Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

“What now for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its political wing the Freedom and Justice Party? Rarely has the fall from power of a party been so quick, dramatic and violent. Since President Morsi’s removal by the army, thousands of the Brotherhood’s members and supporters have been arrested, including most of its senior leaders. Hardtalk speaks to Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a member of the now suspended parliament. What is the Brotherhood’s next move?”

From BBC News

There doesn’t seem to be a big or strong enough liberal or even conservative democratic movement in Egypt that is big enough to take on the Islamic-Theocrats and the military authoritarians in Egypt. Leaving Egypt stuck between two forms of authoritarianism:

People in favor of the current police state and never moving away from that. And people who want to impose an Islamic-Theocracy on Egypt.

What Egypt needs for democracy to have any shot at becoming real in a big Arab country with no history of democracy, is for Center-Right democrats (liberal or conservative) and a Center-Left to emerge in Egypt, so Egyptians who want it, can not only push and vote for democracy, but have choices in what type of democracy that they want in Egypt.

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The McLaughlin Group: American Exceptionalism

“The McLaughlin Group 9/13/13”

From The McLaughlin Group

The simple fact that the most of the democratic world tends to look to America when there’s a crisis like this dealing with human rights and humanitarian crisis’, is the perfect example of American exceptionalism. But that can be used to go too far when you think your power is unlimited.

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CNN: Piers Morgan Tonight- Nicholas Kristof: ‘Vladimir Putin Exudes Hypocrisy in Op-Ed’

Source:CNN– New York Times left-wing columnist Nicholas Kristof.

“Nicholas Kristof talks about Vladimir Putin being a hypocrite in the New York Times Op-ed and the U.S. response to Syria. More from CNN at:CNN.”

From CNN

If President Putin was actually serious about ending the violence in Syria, he would stop arming the Assad Regime that is using the weapons against their own people. Just throwing out a thought there. But sometimes commonsense is needed because people run out of it or ignore it.

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Mox News: CNN Crossfire- ‘The Strength of The Assad Regime in Syria’

“We’ve Also Seen An Islamic Rebel Eating The Heart Of A Soldier!” CNN Crossfire: The Strength of The Assad Regime in Syria”

From Mox News

The fact is that without the serious threat of military force in Syria against the Assad Regime, Russia and Syria aren’t talking about negotiating and giving up the Syrian chemical weapons. That Russia and Syria took that threat serious enough to actually do something about it and not play chicken. Which is why now the Obama Administration is now listening to them and a real peaceful resolution may emerge. But I wouldn’t keep my fingers crossed (unless that makes you feel better) because President Bashar Al-Assad may just be trying to stall and buy more time.

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PBS NewsHour: Hari Sreenivasan- ‘White House Makes Emotional Appeal on Syria’

Source:PBS NewsHour– USA Today Chief Congressional Corespondent Susan Davis.

“Susan Davis, Chief Congressional Reporter for USA Today, spoke with Hari Sreenivasan about how many days — or weeks — it might take for President Obama to get a final vote for a military strike on Syria.”

From the PBS NewsHour

“The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor[6] based in Arlington, Virginia. The PBS is a publicly funded[7] nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing series such as American Experience, America’s Test Kitchen, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Barney & Friends, Between the Lions, Cyberchase, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Downton Abbey, Wild Kratts, Finding Your Roots, Frontline, The Magic School Bus, The Kidsongs Television Show, Masterpiece Theater, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Nature, Nature Cat, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Peg + Cat, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Keeping Up Appearances, and This Old House.[8]

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source.[9] PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government.”

From Wikipedia

Looks like at least according to Susan Davis (and there’s an all-American name if I ever heard one) and I do not have any reason to doubt her, that President Obama gives his big speech on Syria Tuesday night (which I’ll blog about as well then) and depending on how that speech goes the Democratic Senate led by Leader Harry Reid, will vote on the Syrian resolution by the weekend or by the end of next weekend. And depending on how that goes the Republican House led by Speaker John Boehner, will hold their vote next week. So the President still has time to sell his resolution to Congress and the country as a whole. But how successful he’s at this week will decide whether or not he gets his resolution or not.

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DNC Press: ‘Senator Byrd’s Speech Opposing Iraq War 3/19/03’

Source:DNC Press– U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (Democrat, West Virginia) speaking out against the War in Iraq, in 2003.

“Remarkably prescient speech opposing the Iraq war by Senator Byrd in March of 2003.”

From DNC Press

I wish more people had listened to Senator Byrd in the beginning, especially in Congress but in America as a whole when the war was popular, because Senator Byrd was right all along. And had more people listened to him who wasn’t an isolationist or pacifist, or some other extremist on the Far-Left, we would’ve saved a lot of lives and money in America and Iraq. And not had gone to war over weapons of mass destruction that weren’t there when we went to war in 2003.

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PBS Newshour: ‘Shields & Brooks on Syria as Test For President Obama’s Credibility’

Source:PBS NewsHour– political analyst and syndicated columnist Mark Shields.

“Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss President Barack Obama’s decision to take the Syrian crisis to Congress and the historical implications if the president is unable to win over lawmakers in a vote on national security.”

From the PBS NewsHour

“The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor[6] based in Arlington, Virginia. The PBS is a publicly funded[7] nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing series such as American Experience, America’s Test Kitchen, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Barney & Friends, Between the Lions, Cyberchase, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Downton Abbey, Wild Kratts, Finding Your Roots, Frontline, The Magic School Bus, The Kidsongs Television Show, Masterpiece Theater, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Nature, Nature Cat, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Peg + Cat, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Keeping Up Appearances, and This Old House.

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source.[9] PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government.”

From Wikipedia

Even though I’m with President Obama on his Syria policy at least the one he came out with in the last two weeks on why he believes America should intervene in Syria militarily, the problem is that the previous two years his policy wasn’t very clear and he’s paying a price for that now. And having to appeal to a country that is simply tired of that and doesn’t want to see our military get involved anywhere else in the world. But at the end of the day because of the evidence that his national security team will give Congress both Representatives and Senators in both parties, he’ll get the votes he needs for Syria.

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CBS News: ‘President Obama on Syria strike: This Is Not Iraq, And This is Not Afghanistan

Source:CBS News– President Obama in-between Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Minority Leader. Perhaps intentionally there to keep the two leaders from scratching, clawing, and choking each other. But I don’t know that for sure.

“The U.S. military plan for Syria is “proportional, it is limited, it does not involve boots on the ground,” President Obama told reporters ahead of his first meeting with lawmakers since announcing he would seek congressional authorization to strike in the civil war-torn country. “This is not Iraq, and this is not Afghanistan.”

Flanked by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio – who later announced his support for a Syrian military strike – Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and members of both parties from key national security committees, Mr. Obama said the plan, developed by the Joint Chiefs of staff, will degrade Syrian President Bashar Assad’s capabilities amid mounting evidence he used chemical weapons against his own people.”

From CBS News

The difference between Syria and Iraq is that we know that Syria had weapons of mass destruction, rather than assuming that they do.

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PBS Newshour: ‘Shields & Brooks Debate Need For National Consensus on Syria’

Source:PBS NewsHour– Judy Woodruff, David Brooks, and Mark Shields.

“Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the case laid out by Secretary John Kerry for U.S. military action in response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, and whether President Obama should seek congressional approval.”

From PBS

“Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the case laid out by Secretary John Kerry for U.S. military action in response to the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, and whether President Obama should seek congressional approval.”

From PBS 

“The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor[6] based in Arlington, Virginia. The PBS is a publicly funded[7] nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing series such as American Experience, America’s Test Kitchen, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Barney & Friends, Between the Lions, Cyberchase, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Downton Abbey, Wild Kratts, Finding Your Roots, Frontline, The Magic School Bus, The Kidsongs Television Show, Masterpiece Theater, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Nature, Nature Cat, Nova, PBS NewsHour, Peg + Cat, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Keeping Up Appearances, and This Old House.[8]

PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, pledge drives, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens. All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is free of influence from the funding source.[9] PBS has over 350 member television stations, many owned by educational institutions, nonprofit groups both independent or affiliated with one particular local public school district or collegiate educational institution, or entities owned by or related to state government.”

From Wikipedia

David Brooks just made the case for American involvement in Syria by saying that there is certain international standards that countries have to live up too. And not doing that consequences must come as a result like paying a price for bad behavior. Like attacking your own people and using weapons of mass destruction against your own people. That a country like the United States that is essentially the leader of the free world can’t put up with without responding to that bad behavior.

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