The difference here is that Libya did nothing to attack us or challenge our vital interests. Indeed, it was pretty much the opposite in that Libya abandoned its nuclear program in 2003 after the Iraq invasion, stopped sponsaoring terrorism, and even gave us occcasional help in dealing with AQ and the MB. Thus, we have an utterly poiontless attack on a non-hostile power that's turned it into a hostile one and assured us an endless bleeding sore, much like Iraq and Afganistan.
Exactly!
Qadaffi’s been struggling to keep Al Qaeda in check in Libya for a long time now. They’ve tried to assassinate Qadaffi several times and have been trying to take control of Libya. That’s most likely the main reason why Qadaffi join and participated in our war against Al Qaeda.
Now that the marines appear to be on their way to Libya we may be shedding US blood to put in power the very same people reported to have left eastern Libya to go fight and kill our soldiers in Iraq during the Iraqi War.
Did a lot of reading prior for our Vietnam trip this year. Re Tonkin and an attack on our ships:
In 2005, an internal National Security Agency historical study was declassified; it concluded[7] that the Maddox had engaged the North Vietnamese Navy on August 2, but that there may not have been any North Vietnamese Naval vessels present during the incident of August 4. The report stated:
[I]t is not simply that there is a different story as to what happened; it is that no attack happened that night. [...] In truth, Hanoi’s navy was engaged in nothing that night but the salvage of two of the boats damaged on August 2.[8]
So you are correct that this incident, whatever it was, did seem to propel us into that war in Vietnam.
Seems like the Middle East has become a real powder keg and we look like we have no leadership to deal with it.