Thursday, October 20, 2011
Death of a Tyrant
The prime minister of the interim government of Libya is reporting that deposed dictator Muammar Qaddafi was killed earlier today in Sirte, Libya. Earlier conflicting reports indicated that either a NATO airstrike was responsible, or that he was killed by insurgents as he tried to escape a hiding place. There were also unconfirmed reports that one of Qaddafi's sons, Saif, was captured or killed along with his father.
This has to count as another foreign policy victory for President Obama, who wisely let NATO take the lead in providing support to the Libyan insurgents who prevailed in the end. He's effectively taken foreign policy -- and specifically the "war on terror" -- off the table for the 2012 elections (not that the Rethugs will manufacture "issues" to throw against the wall to see what sticks).
UPDATE: Not surprisingly, the Rethugs are trying to spin this as a "British and French" victory. They are utterly incapable of acknowledging America's active role in Qaddafi's downfall and giving Obama credit.