Michael Barone‘s latest Washington Examiner article tackles the Obama administration’s approach to the turmoil in Libya:
As one who hopes for success in this enterprise, I am dismayed by the contradictions in the course we are following.
Some three weeks ago President Obama said Gadhafi “must go.” But the U.N. Security Council resolution under which we are acting stops well short of this goal.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen confirmed that Gadhafi may remain in power indefinitely. National Security Council staffer Ben Rhodes said, “It’s not about regime change.”
If not, then the purported purpose of the operation, to “protect civilians,” could be of unlimited duration. Libya might well be divided between a Gadhafi regime in the west around Tripoli and a rebel regime in the east around Benghazi.
Maintaining the existence of the latter will likely require military force. Obama has conceded that the United States is currently in command of operations, but says that command will be handed off to others in “days, not weeks.”
But news reports make it clear that the overwhelming majority of military forces in action are American. Putting a British or French officer in command will not change that. And putting U.S. forces under foreign command might weaken support for the enterprise here at home.
Obama’s policy is reminiscent of the old saying that a camel is a horse designed by committee.
