Free Republic

His West Point speech and his policy of retreat are characterized by smallness. It is fitting that the day before President Obama gives his grand West Point address defending the wisdom and prudence of his foreign policy, his government should be urging Americans to evacuate Libya. Libya, of course, was once the model Obama intervention — the exquisitely calibrated military engagement wrapped in the rhetorical extravagance of a nationally televised address proclaiming his newest foreign-policy doctrine (they change to fit the latest ad hoc decision): the responsibility to protect, or R2P. (snip) For the same reason, perhaps, that the Afghan...

Add another drop of tragedy to the story of America’s reluctant, no-boots-on-the-ground operation in Libya in 2011: Weapons that were never secured after Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster made their way to Boko Haram, the Islamist terrorist organization now holding hundreds of Nigerian girls. Last May, Boko Haram staged an attack in the town of Bama, killing 55 innocents and freeing 100 prisoners. That month Reuters ran a story by Tim Cocks headlined “Nigeria’s Islamists staging bolder, deadlier comeback.” It explained: The Bama attack showed their substantial firepower, including machine guns, large numbers of rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and pick-up trucks mounted with...

The Maricopa County Republican Party in Arizona formally censured Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Saturday evening by an overwhelming 1150-351 vote, Breitbart News has learned. Maricopa County is Arizona's most populous county and includes Phoenix within its borders. The official GOP body's rebuke undermines McCain's reelection chances should he decide to run for the Senate again in 2016. “As leaders in the Republican Party, we are obligated to fully support our Party, platform, and its candidates,”the formal censure resolution reads. “Only in times of great crisis or betrayal is it necessary to publicly censure our leaders. Today we are faced with...

Samantha Power has been a notorious critic of Israel for years and that, naturally, makes her well-qualified under President Obama's criteria to serve in such a crucial post. She will be welcomed with open arms at the United Nations. We at American Thinker have been warning about her influence with Barack Obama since 2008 (see Samantha Power and Obama's Foreign Policy Team). But her bit of nastiness seems to be tinged with a bit of anti-Semitism as well. When concerns arose in 2008 regarding Barack Obama and his views towards Israel it generated wrath from Ms. Power, who was a...

Hey, Obama Lovers, now that our Ambassador is dead, our Benghazi consulate is a smoldering ruin, and its top secret documents have been snatched by Al Qaeda, do you still think your hero's Libyan war is a smashing success? Because I sure do. Not from America's point of view, of course; it's a nightmare for our national security. But from the perspective of Obama's biggest donor, the convicted felon and renowned Israel-hater George Soros, the Libyan War is a triumph. Why? Because Obama waged it illegally and without the consent of Congress. And he did it in the name of...

Intervention in Libya Led to Attack on U.S. Consulate, Ex-CIA Chief Says Written by Jack Kenny The UN-sanctioned military intervention in Libya by the United States and NATO allies created conditions ripe for Tuesday's attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the life of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other members of his staff, a former CIA director said Wednesday. In an interview with Newsmax TV, retired Air Force General Michael Hayden said the decision to intervene on behalf of the rebels seeking to overthrow Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi may have been made without a...

Obama's clean war in Libya, the one that was won by lying to the UN and then dropping bombs and flying away while ragged bands of fighters whittled away what was left of the decrepit Libyan military, doesn't look so clean anymore. The bloodless victory has seen its first blood shed as those same fighters coddled and protected by American jets and drones tore into the temporary consulate set up to liaise with the rebels, set it on fire and dragged the body of the ambassador who had helped their rebellion succeed through the streets while posing for snapshots with...

An attack on our Embassy is an attack on our soil. We have been attacked by Libya. Go into Libya & take the oil--like we should have done in the first place!

Cutting Off Funding For Military Operations In Libya Posted by Rep. Tom McClintock (R–CA) Jul 8th 2011 at 2:38 pm in Africa Congressman Tom McClintock (CA-04) House Floor remarks in support of an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act to deny authorization for the use of funds for the war in Libya. Speech in Support of the Amash/ Kucinich Amendment to HR 2219 / Video Link Congressman Tom McClintock July 7, 2011 Mr. Chairman: For more than three months, our nation has been amidst a quiet constitutional crisis that carries immense implications. The Gentleman from Florida is sadly...

I do career mentoring in my town with high school kids. It’s kind of like Big Brother, Big Sister. A year ago I let my 16-year-old mentee, who had a driver’s permit, drive my car from the school to my house while I was in the passenger seat. He was doing great until it was time to park in the garage. As he pulled in he suddenly hit the gas and was head toward a wall that would lead into my living room. Not wanting him to put a car through my house, I screamed for the kid to slam...

Libyan Leader Implores NATO to Stop Attacks, but Holds Obama in High Regard ABC News has obtained a copy of a letter from Libya 's Colonel Moammar Gadhafi to President Barack Obama, in which Gadhafi refers to Obama as "our son ," an affectionate honorific in that part of the world by an elder to someone younger. "We have been hurt more morally that [sic] physically because what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you. Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened," the Libyan leader wrote to the American president. At another...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Intelligence on the rebels battling Libya's Muammar Gaddafi has shown "flickers" of al Qaeda or Hezbollah presence, NATO's operations commander said, but U.S. officials said there were no indications militant groups are playing a significant role in Libya. "We are examining very closely the content, composition, the personalities, who are the leaders of these opposition forces," Admiral James Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, said in testimony to a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday. But several national security officials quickly and firmly denied that al Qaeda or Hezbollah were significantly...