Rethinking the Calls for Intervention in Syria
By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary) | February 10th at 06:00 AM |
My RedState colleague and good friend Victoria Coates recently wrote a post calling for a humanitarian intervention in Syria on behalf of the opposition and civilians who are being killed daily by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. She writes: “In dealing with Libya and Syria, consistency need not be the hobgoblin of little minds but can rather be the hallmark of a consistent and coordinated foreign policy. | Read More »
A New Day in Libya: Brief Thoughts on What Happened and What to Watch For
By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary) | August 22nd at 07:00 PM |
This weekend brought good news for those who have lived under the oppressive regime of Moammar Qaddafi for all or part of his 42 year reign of terror, as the dress-wearing perma-Colonel and his regime have been largely overthrown after a months-long civil war. As has been noted across the international affairs-sphere over the course of the last 24 hours, the toppling of Qaddafi’s | Read More »
The U.S. Senate flails about in an effort to save face as the coalition in charge of bombing Libya begins to crack
By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary) | June 23rd at 11:00 AM |
In an apparent effort to save face via the provision of ex post facto permission, the U.S. Senate is considering a bipartisan resolution that would authorize Obama to continue prosecuting his war in Libya for up to a year, albeit with a specific prohibition against the employment of ground troops. The sponsors of this resolution are, as may be expected, John McCain (R-AZ) and John | Read More »
When is a War not a War? When Obama is President and Libya is the Opponent
By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary) | June 22nd at 12:00 PM |
Last week, at House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) request, the Obama administration provided a brief (32 pages plus classified addenda) overview of its activities in Libya, its conversations with Congress about them, and its rationale for not needing Congressional approval to continue this war ad infinitem. The full document (minus the classified annexes) is available here in pdf form. Here are a few highlights. 1. | Read More »
Obama Calls for ‘Patience and Persistence’ on his Unapproved, Directionless War in Libya
By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary) | May 26th at 04:30 PM |
Let me begin with a moment of candor: I’d honestly be surprised if a majority of the American people even know that America is at war in Libya. I’d be far more surprised if any significant number of Americans know that our self-declared unitary executive has disregarded his legal requirement to secure approval from Congress in order to continue his war beyond the already-passed 60 | Read More »
Obama’s Not Just Bombing Libya: The Main Course Speech That Felt More Like an Appetizer
By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary) | March 28th at 09:38 PM |
You might have heard that President Obama (finally) gave a speech about the shelling of Libya he ordered well over a week ago. Or, you might not have; he’s been trying pretty hard to keep our involvement in it out of the public eye, despite the US having the leading role in every phase of this “kinetic military action” except (1) decision-making, and (2) actually | Read More »