Obama Shoulders Responsibility

Mike & Friends Blog

Dan Rackley

Dan Rackley is a US Naval veteran living in Philadelphia and a contributor to "Will They Ever Trust Us Again?"

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March 29th, 2011 6:31 PM

Obama Shoulders Responsibility

Last night Barack Obama took to a podium to expound on the reasons for the U.S. involvement in the Libyan situation. I had been half convinced up until the speech that the American airstrikes against forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi were a good and reasonable solution to an alarming international problem. Military intervention should always be looked at as a last resort, and the views of many world leaders were in agreement on coalition airstrikes.

President Obama in his speech gave everyone a very convincing explanation on the past and present of the Libya situation. People needed help and we helped them. Now the job of helping is being passed onto a group of several countries as opposed to the United States shouldering the burden. What the president failed to address in the speech is the future United States role in that area and more so Gadhafi. He said that the U.S. military will be scaling back their operations over the no-fly zone and handing the bulk of the duties to NATO forces. Problem is, the United States being a member of NATO is obliged to act in any NATO operation. Which contradicts what the president said last night on television. What happens in the event that NATO needs the United States to pull a larger share than what Obama is willing to commit to? This in my opinion will decrease America’s standing in world affairs. Leaders of other countries will look upon the U.S. as less reliable in a bind than they thought us to be.

The other aspect that did not get touched on last night in his speech is the eventual removal of Gadhafi that seems to be the only end strategy that will satiate anyone. There is too much at stake on a humanitarian front to let him stay in power, and Obama did not mention his eventual ouster. But by not speaking about it; it gave me the feeling that by not saying anything he was trying to remain noncommittal on any operation that would end in Gadhafi’s removal. Which may have been a smart move, but in the end could also make the president appear to have cold feet. His speech seemed to be little more than a recap of what happened than an out and out explanation. To convince the American people, you have to be more upfront with us.