Saturday, March 26, 2011

Bombing Libya? When were you gonna tell us?

The Obamas in Chile
Finally, President Obama has announced that he will address the nation about Libya this Monday. Better late than never. In the meantime, as we wait with baited breath for Our Dear Leader to speak to us, I have a question. Is it just me, or what?

For the past week we have been bombing Libya as part of a UN coalition of nations lead by France...yes, that France to presumably aid the rebel forces trying to oust Qaddafi. Now, maybe it's just me, but when the President of the United States commits our resources, military or otherwise, to send planes, pilots, and 2,200 members of the 26th Marine Expedition­ary Unit to bomb someplace, don't you think he should have the good grace to be sitting in the Oval Office when he signs the order? It is just unseemly to me that, as the Commander-In-Chief, he is committing the might of the American military while out of the country clinking glasses of wine (presumably a lovely Chilean red) at a State Dinner in South America. [See photo]

Am I the only one who thinks that the President of the United States should be in the Oval Office in Washington DC in the US of A when he makes these decisions? At the very least, he could be using a photo-shopped "Oval Office"*** to make a address. So, not only do we have a new war front, but our President has been out of the country, so we don't even know why, when, or for how long we will be doing this. Oh, the MSM insist it will be days, but the UN insists it will be months. I don't expect the President (any President) to tip his hand and tells us everything. BUT, after we started bombing, it would have been nice to know that the President respected the American people and the gravity of this new commitment enough that he would cut his trip short and hurry on back to American soil to let us know in person what the hell is going on!

Oh, one thing - expect to hear on Monday that this is not another war, it's a "kinetic military action". Somehow, that won't make me feel any better. How about you?

Oh, second thing - did you hear that Al Qaeda is fighting on the side of the Libyan rebels too?


***One would think they would have thought of that after the WH publicity office decided to use Air Force One to dive bomb the Statue of Liberty for a photo op in 2009.

17 comments:

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, A couple points.

First "military action" is too harsh. I think we should call it a "Kinetic Non-nonviolent Persuasion Attempt."

Secondly, well, yeah. Most presidents of this great land (and even other crappy countries) usually rush to the microphone to explain why the country is at war. But Obama's different. He is what we in the business of being humans call "an irresponsible, lazy bastard." So he phones in his job and disappears when important decisions need to be made. And forget finding him when it comes time to taking responsibility for something.

I personally think, his staff should replace him with a puppet, at least we'd get something closer to real leadership then.

In terms of how long we'll stay in Libya, that depends on what our goals are. Since we have no goals, I'm thinking we'll just keep bombing until we run out of bombs. . . like happened in Serbia under Clinton.

Blech!

Ed said...

Bev, I couldn't agree more. The guy is a joke and the joke is on us.

Unknown said...

Bev: Under the best of circumstances, I can't see anything good coming out the unrest in the Middle East. A bold, conscientious, clear-thinking President who puts America first might be able to sort this out properly. But we have--Obama.

During Obama's visit to Brazil, I e-mailed a friend of mine in Rio and asked if the Brazilians would just consider keeping him there. He demurred. My reasoning was that he could do less damage outside of the country than he can in the White House. As far as I'm concerned, he should just keep going on his most recent apology tour and stay gone until it's time for him to come back and turn over the Presidency to the new Republican President in 2013.

BevfromNYC said...

Andrew - I think we should call it a "Kinetic Non-nonviolent Persuasive Interventionary Attempt" Heck why not just make new words, not just new meanings of old words.

I like the puppet idea. Maybe a sock puppet like Lamb-Chop only we can call him Bam-chop. All Hail Bam-Chop, leader of the...well...nothing. Where's Sherry Lewis when you need her. Well, I hear that Julie Taymor is free now...

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk - Apparently there were protests and Obama effigy burnings all over the South American and the Mideast. Obama should be rethinking his view of the Tea Partiers once he gets a load of what people in OTHER countries think of him. Not nearly as polite...

I thought maybe someone had wised up when Obama got locked out of the WH after he came back. I thought it was fitting that he was caught fumbling around trying to find an unlocked door the other day. The WH staff wasn't even warned that he was coming back a few hours early.

BevfromNYC said...

Ed, if he weren't so scary, I would agree that he is a joke. It is a shame that the comedians aren't running with this joke. I guess it's even to horrifying for them...

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I like that -- Bam-chop. That seems really fitting, especially since Obama is basically just reading from the TOTUS anyway.

I'll bet it would be strange at first to see a sock puppet pretending to be the president, but I think we'd get used to it. And a puppet is more likely to make better decisions! Plus, Obama would be happy because he wouldn't have to spend any time at the old day job anymore. It would be a real win/win. :-)

BevfromNYC said...

And Andrew, doesn't Bam-chop sound tougher and more kick-a**? Almost "Reaganesque" even!

Oops, I thought we already have an animatronic President. You know, like the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland. That's just one step above "sock puppet".

Unknown said...

Bev: What confuses me is why a messiah can't just walk through locked windows and doors.

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk, I an surprised that a messiah actually needs doors at all! Shouldn't he be able to control the weather? Which brings me to...weren't the seas supposed to recede and the Earth begin to heal by now?

Tennessee Jed said...

Bev - I don't per se have a problem with where a president makes his announcements. In this case, it appears to me that this president and his administration have looked incredibly undisciplined and amateurish.

Look, the world is a tough place and events can happen beyond our ability to control. I even "get" (God isn't that becoming a cliche quickly) that we are not really in a position to "do anything" if it is China, Russia, or even Iran who is acting out. Still, the remarkable difference in the way Obama handled the protests in Iran, Egypt, and Libya are startling. Further, with Biden, Clinton and the Homeland Guy all shooting off their mouths off, it is almost like Keystone Kops. I can even appreciate, up to a point, a president who takes a reasonable amount of time to think things through before acting. But this guy just really seems indecisive.

My own belief is he has little interest in foreign policy beyond looking at our country as a white colonialist enterprise that has exploited the third world. To this end, I think he is engaged in payback. Hence is genuflecting To Arab heads of state while insulting the English Queen. His agenda, in my view, is reparations, although he is clever enough to realize he just can't come out and say that. To the extent he has a foreign policy, it is relexive and apologetic and designed to take us down a notch or five.

Sorry for the rant! ;-)

BevfromNYC said...

Tennessee - I agree with you. I am not sure how this Administration could be anymore muddled if it actually tried. And what I am afraid of is that it is not by incompetence but they ARE trying and the muddle is quite deliberate and by design! Very scary thought...

He knew for at least 3 weeks that this is what we were going to do, but he left anyway. That's deliberate. He doesn't say anything about the others OR the bombings in Israel because he WANTS there to a complete upheaval in the MidEast. What I can't figure out is why. Or more truthfully, I don't want to think of "why". It is too frightening to comprehend.

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, I went to dinner last night with some friends and I mentioned the sock puppet idea. No granted, these were conservatives, but they all warmed to the idea quite quickly and they were in favor of it!

I think we should put it to a national vote. :-)

Writer X said...

I can hardly wait to hear the word-spin when he addresses the nation on Monday. Maybe he'll have his basketball brackets in the background for ambiance? And, seriously, where's Code Pink when you need 'em.

I think Gingrich pegged it right when he called Obama "Spectator-in-Chief." He's barely that.

T_Rav said...

Despite being late, I'll go ahead and contribute. While I was getting ready for church this morning, I was half-listening to Clinton and Gates on "Face the Nation," and in response to Bob Schieffer's query as to how there was a difference between the situation in Libya and that in Syria (so why aren't we intervening there?), I'm pretty sure Clinton explained that the unrest in Syria was a "police action that got out of hand." Now, I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that when you have dozens of people being killed in several different places throughout the country (actually probably hundreds), it's a little more than a "police action." But that's just me.

BevfromNYC said...

T-Rav: Don't you remember? We just opened our newest Embassy in...wait for it...Syria. THAT'S why we are not pushing any action in Syria. We LIKE Bashir because he and his wife are pretty people and are so fashionable.

I mean, if you were going to bomb someone, Ghaddaffi would be it. He looks like freak...

BevfromNYC said...

Writer X: I am not sure I even want to watch the "address" after complaining there he hasn't done it yet. I just can't watch the twisting and head-nodding. I am thinking of just using my own Bam-chop sock puppet and making up the speech that I want to hear...Does that make me a hypocrite?

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