As rebel forces approached the outskirts of Tripoli, panicked government officials made hurried contacts to discuss how to shore up their defenses in the midst of a rapidly unfolding crisis.
I refer not to members of Qadhafi's withering regime but to U.S. Republicans watching an outcome that provided substantial additional vindication for an Obama administration policy that GOPers had been sniping at for months.
While the administration is demonstrating admirable restraint in commenting on the situation until circumstances have clarified, the Republicans knew they could waste no time if they hoped to pre-empt and stem what would be widely viewed as another bolstering of the President's foreign policy choices.
And so John McCain and Lindsay Graham were enlisted to spout a Republican spin which shamefully distorts the reality of tonight's historic events.
Their statement celebrates the fall of the Libyan government while stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the steps taken by this President to make this evening possible.
Credit is given to everyone except President Obama:
This achievement was made possible first and foremost by the struggle and sacrifice of countless Libyans, whose courage and perseverance we applaud. We also commend our British, French, and other allies, as well as our Arab partners, especially Qatar and the UAE, for their leadership in this conflict.
The only veiled recognition of the contribution of the U.S. administration is packaged with a swipe at how things would have gone better if the GOP had been in charge:
Americans can be proud of the role our country has played in helping to defeat Qaddafi, but we regret that this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower.
Congratulations on your "failure", Mr. President.
Knowing that all knowledgeable observers will see this as a validation of Obama's policy on Libya, the statement attempts to defy reality:
Ultimately, our intervention in Libya will be judged a success or failure based not on the collapse of the Qaddafi regime, but on the political order that emerges in its place.
No, gentlemen, the success of our intervention has been demonstrated repeatedly:
- prevention of a massacre of Libyan citizens by the Qadhafi regime;
- solidification of our relationship with key allies in the region who sought our support for this policy;
- preservation of the U.S. reputation among citizens of the region who would have judged us harshly if we had stood by and let Qadhafi attack his people unchecked;
- continuation of an "Arab spring" whose spirit would have been crushed by a brutal Qadhafi assault on the rebels;
- a check on the actions of the Syrian regime who could have witnessed a Qadhafi offensive unchecked by the international community and unleashed an even larger massacre on the Syrian people;
- and, yes, the collapse of a regime that Reagan could not bring to an end and had brutally ruled for 42 years.
Keep on spinning Republicans. You can't change the scoreboard:
Obama: 2
Most Infamous International Terrorists of the Last Half-Century: 0
