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Libya is war, no matter the rhetoric
National Post ^ | June 25, 2011 | Rex Murphy

Posted on 06/25/2011 12:41:41 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA

It is difficult to think of Hillary Clinton as an avatar of George Bush, but there is no escaping the thought. Just this week, when Republicans in the U.S. Congress were voting on limiting the U.S.'s involvement in the current Libyan conflict, Ms. Clinton threw out the angry question: "Whose side are you on?"

The question is a remarkably faithful echo of Mr. Bush's own famous challenge of "You are either with us or against us in the war against terrorism." For his disdainful critics, that "either with us or against us" formulation was the quintessential Bushism -a reductive, simplistic, puerile expression of his low IQ sensibility and his dreadful moral absolutism. He was pilloried the world over for this dumb dichotomy, this "Texan" view of the world.

But of course, the infinitely more complex and subtle Ms. Clinton can throw out a "just whose side are you on" and win points from the same critics for her determination, candour and steely clarity. Sorry, it's just Bush in a pantsuit, and if George Bush was a war-mongering simpleton for saying what he said, than Hillary Clinton has borrowed his paddle and is propelling the same rhetorical boat.

{SNIP}

I guess when any country is in a war that it will not call a war it doesn't want much discussion of it. Which puts a blossoming irony on this whole operation and returns us to the Secretary of State. Her blunt rebuke to her Congressional critics offered the only moment of real clarity in this entire adventure. The single verbal formulation that does not walk around or away from what it actually happening in Libya occurred when Hillary Clinton appropriated -with slight paraphase -the jingoism of the simpleton president, George Bush.

Somewhere, on a Crawford ranch, a cowboy is smiling. ?

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalpost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: libya; twofacedliberals
Read the whole article -- you'll enjoy it.

Caution: full of ironic statements. Read carefully.

1 posted on 06/25/2011 12:41:49 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA

Bush had real justification for Iraq and Afghanistan. There is NONE of that in this case.

“Whose side are you on?” = NOT THE ISLAMISTS WHO THE DEMOCRATS ARE FIGHTING FOR IN LIBYA, MS. BEELZEBUBBA.


2 posted on 06/25/2011 12:52:30 PM PDT by Christian Engineer Mass (25ish Cambridge MA grad student. Many conservative Christians my age out there? __ Click my name)
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
Rex Murphy seems to understand the problem, but I'd like to see him pound it with a hammer more than massage it with descriptions. His point that Canada has say in NATO is valid, but if the US didn't want war in Libya, NATO wouldn't be there, period.
3 posted on 06/25/2011 12:58:40 PM PDT by Navy Patriot (Holy flippin' crap, Sarah rocks the world!)
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To: Navy Patriot
“His point that Canada has say in NATO is valid, but if the US didn't want war in Libya, NATO wouldn't be there, period.”

True. And, that's the main reason the war in Libya wasn't an election issue here. Our left-of-centre, and even-further-left parties want to be seen to be supporting Obama.

4 posted on 06/25/2011 1:02:41 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA

“Who’s side are you on?”

Let’s see, on the one hand, there Moamar Khaddafi and on the other hand, there’s Al Qaeda.

How about neither.


5 posted on 06/25/2011 1:22:28 PM PDT by Redmen4ever
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
It's sad when you can't kill Gaddafi in a country that is basically a road parallel to the coast.
6 posted on 06/25/2011 2:03:40 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
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To: Berlin_Freeper
It's an embarassment for NATO, for sure.

However, why is NATO even trying to kill Daffy? He stopped his WMD programmes, shortly after the Iraq invasion. He had been embraced (literally, even) by European and American leaders for several years since. Libya was considered benign — perhaps even a success story in the WOT.

It's become very clear that the rebels were not the vanguard of a “popular uprising”.

The leftist notion of a “humanitarian war” is a dangerous concept. In the case of Libya, there wasn't even an actual humanitarian crisis — just trumped-up charges of impending genocide.

7 posted on 06/25/2011 2:13:22 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: Berlin_Freeper

At least the POTUS and Secratary of State are evenly matched as far a qualification and aptitude for the job they are doing goes.


8 posted on 06/25/2011 2:18:43 PM PDT by jospehm20
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
However, why is NATO even trying to kill Daffy?

I'll tell you why.

Because Obama is an empty suit on the international stage and Sarkozy knows this, heck they all it. Sarkozy saw his chance for a little French glory when he knew there was a good chance of passage in the UN for NATO action - he started leading the way. Cameron and the Brits could never accept the french taking the lead so they jumped up and between the French and the Brits there was a mad dash to war. Obama got sucked along in their wake.

The whole situation is a freak show.

9 posted on 06/25/2011 2:23:40 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
Obama says this is not war because we do not have troops in Libya fighting on the ground. We have our aircraft flying missions every day in Libya and dropping bombs ever day.

When the Japanese bombed us at Pearl Harbor in 1941 they did not have any troops on the ground attacking the United States. Based on the logic of Mr. Obama Japan did not go to war with us. I guess we should apologize for kicking Japans ass for the NON WAR BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR.

10 posted on 06/25/2011 2:52:35 PM PDT by cpdiii (Deckhand, Roughneck, Geologist, Pilot, Pharmacist, Iconoclast: THE CONSTITUTION IS WORTH DYING FOR.)
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