The Quiet Conservative March 20, 2011
Libya as Pearl Harbor
Does it bother anyone but me, that we launched hundreds of missiles into a country, and flown B-2
missions to bomb a country, that has done nothing to us? Lately that is? Does it bother anyone but me
that we are planning more attacks on this country? Does it bother anyone that the President has done
this without the authority of Congress? I don't see where he bothered to get Congressional approval to
commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that had given us no provocation, therefore no
justification for this aggression. The War Powers Act certainly doesn't apply. Libya doesn't fit.
It doesn't matter that Gaddafi (however you want to spell it) is a scumbag. It doesn't matter that he is
ruthless to his people. That doesn't figure into it. We don't seem to be bombing North Korea or Iran,
or: Cuba, Venezuela, China, Zimbabwe, Burma, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia,
Syria, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Uganda, Rwanda, Belarus, etc. are we? So that isn't the
standard we are using. If we were at all concerned about the innocent civilian dead, then we would be
invading Mexico right now. They have lost 30,000 innocent dead in the narco terrorism in Mexico.
There is the admission by the former ruling party that they as the Mexican government, for decades,
assisted in the running of drugs into the United States. There is every indication that currently
segments of their military are escorting, or in some cases are, the drug runners coming into the United
States. So, fire up the drones and roll out the tanks. It is time to save Mexico from itself.
No?....Why not? There is far more moral and legal justification for that use of force scenario than for
attacking Libya. Let's just consider the principle of going to war and change our perspective for a
moment to illustrate that perspective. Think of it as December 7, 1941. This time we are the
Japanese. With no formal declaration of war, we attack. Libyans are struggling between their
government on one side and a general group of rebels on the other when BANG! Over a hundred
missiles from foreign countries hit. Do the people back the government? Who knows? Do the people
back the rebels? Who knows? Who are the rebels? What we do know is that a third party just fired
on them. Not so pretty in those terms, is it? It doesn't seem so American. We are the good guys.
Only this time, one man took us to war without so much as a by-your-leave, and without legal
authority. This is the statement by the President from the White House web site:
" ...I'm also proud that we are acting as part of a coalition that includes close allies and partners
who are prepared to meet their responsibility to protect the people of Libya and uphold the mandate
of the international community.
I've acted after consulting with my national security team, and Republican and Democratic leaders
of Congress. And in the coming hours and days, my administration will keep the American people
fully informed. But make no mistake: Today we are part of a broad coalition. We are answering
the calls of a threatened people. And we are acting in the interests of the United States and the
world."
He could consult with the White House gardener for all the weight that carries. Congress, not him,
authorizes the use of force that is an act of war. He isn't a member of the international community and
he doesn't get his authority from the U.N. He gets his authority from the American people and the
Constitution. Someone once said he might have read that document. He did swear an oath to defend
it. Now we know he didn't mean it any more than anything else he has said.
"Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in
the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act,
and to act with urgency." President Obama. Which clearly means that the people of Yemen,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and especially Iran, are on their own and tough luck for them. Their
governments can shoot and blow up their civilians at will.
So this is where it gets really weird. From the Politico:
"A hard-core group of liberal House Democrats is questioning the constitutionality of U.S. missile
strikes against Libya, with one lawmaker raising the prospect of impeachment during a Democratic
Caucus conference call on Saturday.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Donna Edwards (Md.), Mike Capuano (Mass.), Dennis Kucinich
(Ohio), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Rob Andrews (N.J.), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), Barbara Lee
(Calif.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.) “all strongly raised objections to the
constitutionality of the president’s actions” during that call, said two Democratic lawmakers who
took part.
Kucinich, who wanted to bring impeachment articles against both former President George W. Bush
and Vice President Dick Cheney over Iraq — only to be blocked by his own leadership — asked why
the U.S. missile strikes aren't impeachable offenses.
Kucinich also questioned why Democratic leaders didn't object when President Barack Obama told
them of his plan for American participation in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone during a White
House Situation Room meeting on Friday, sources told POLITICO.
And liberals fumed that Congress hadn't been formally consulted before the attack and expressed
concern that it would lead to a third U.S. war in the Muslim world.”
These guys are loons. Some of them hardcore Marxist/Socialist/Communists, some just need
medication. Even Charlie Rangel, laughing crook that he is, is protesting the illegality of President
Obama's actions! And they are right!
Meanwhile, the Arab League which had originally supported the No Fly Zone concept has turned and
condemned the widespread aerial attack on "Libyan Civilians" according to the Arab League President
Amr Moussa, "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what
we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,"
So now we are the butchers of Libya. At least that is what everyone will portray us as in the Middle
East. What if Libya turns and supports Gaddafi against this assault by "Crusaders"? The dictator has
pledged to not go quietly. I don't think he is impressed with Obama's intellect, "We promise you a
long war," he said. He called the international assault "simply a colonial crusader aggression that
may ignite another large-scale crusader war." according to the A.P.
All in all, it looks like amateur hour by a weak, unprincipled, not very bright but egotistical Socialist
starting a war because it looked like everyone else wanted to. Is that really the standard? Is that really
how America wants to be perceived in the world? Is this, the very pinnacle of Liberalism, the very
Moses who stopped the oceans from rising and healed the planet, who we deserve as commander in
chief?
Kucinich is right. He should be impeached. Now I need to go lay down. The whack job who normally
would destroy the Constitution is the one standing up for its meaning. Boehner and the Republicans
are absent. There is no word from the entire RNC, nothing on Kansas Senator Roberts web site,
Senator Moran's web site, or Congressman Yoder's web site....or Congressman Huelskamp's web site...
or Congresswoman's Jenkins...or Congressman Pompeo's site. Nope, the only people who want the
Constitution followed are those who normally spend their time trying to either burn it, or tell you it
doesn't mean what it says it means.
I wonder when it will be safe for all these "conservatives" to make a statement on where they stand on
"principle".
(Finally, just so you know it is a broken record playing the same song once again, where is the press on
this? You know, the ones who crucified, boiled in oil, beheaded, and then carried the head of Bush
around the pressrooms on a ball point spike for Iraq, when he had Congressional authorization? Not a
peep. Just like the coverage of the press on anti war protesters, Guantanamo.....you get the drift. The
local rag, the KC Star, had a full page spread on Libya with maps and everything. But not a thought in
their little heads on whether it was a good idea, or even legal. What a surprise.)