With President Obama continuing to sit on his hands and take an indecisive, backseat approach to turmoil in the Middle East, it appears that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi may soon reconquer Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city and original flashpoint for the rebellion. The Libyan people — and the outside world — should expect the worst. Fifteen years ago, Qaddafi got away with massacring 1,200 political prisoners at Libya’s Abu Slim prison. When Qaddafi’s forces sweep through Benghazi, they will probably rape, pillage, and murder on a scale unprecedented in Libya. It is possible that Qaddafi will imprison and/or murder thousands of Libyans in the coming days. As Obama fiddles while Ras Lanuf and soon Benghazi burns, he risks being to Libya what Kofi Annan was to Rwanda.
In the coming hours, there are several questions the White House should consider:
- Is the White House prepared for the fruit of its inactions?
- Is Obama prepared to take any action more forceful than “deploring” it from his bully pulpit?
- Does the international community have the attention span to enforce pariah status on Qaddafi and Libya as a whole?
- Will Qaddafi shrink from U.S. or UN chastisement? If the power of Obama’s rhetoric and persuasion are not enough to moderate Qaddafi, is the United States prepared to face a renewed national-security challenge from the Libyan leader?
Alas, during the elections, then-Senator Clinton worried that Obama would not be ready for the 3 a.m. phone call. Who could have expected that he’d ignore the call and then forget to check his messages for weeks at a time?
[...] When Qaddafi Recaptures Benghazi… Michael Rubin 03.13.2011 – 6:27 PM [...]
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