Libyarators

Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay!
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race!
--Springtime for Hitler, The Producers

Do you no good to go poking around
under rocks, Justin.
Some very nasty things live under rocks,
especially in foreign gardens
--The Constant Gardner (2005)
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Subtitle: New Thugs on the Block

Everybody is up in arms about the Obambarator unilaterally declaring war in the Libya miasmasphere. The furor revolves around the War Powers Act and the constitutional strictures regarding presidential employment of the Armed Forces of the United States.

The question is not, "Is the military action in Libya constitutional?" but rather, "Is it legal?"Further, is there anything of value to accrue to the U.S. as a result of this action? If Moammer Qaddafi is deposed, a new Moammer, or a coalition of Moammer's, will replace him.

We are violating a bedrock military principle in Libya, to wit: "Don't mistake movement for progress." There is no replacement for Mr. Qaddafi even if we do topple him. And how many more years will the U.S. spend grooming the next nutjob?

Why do we employ our assets in the Middle East every time some new thug throws a hand grenade? "Arab Spring" sounds fresh -- like a bar of green deodorant soap -- but spring doesn't mean the same thing for everybody. In some gardens, it's sunflowers; in others, turnips. An old saying goes: Don't plant radishes and expect turnips (Eastern European, as you can imagine.) A good gardener knows he must check soil conditions, weather, seeds and pests before planting and expecting a good yield. The U.S. is dropping Liberty Bombs expecting a lush yield, but that is a fool's errand.

Is it U.S. policy to do something simply because we can? If so, then we should elect teenagers as our leaders (it seems often, we do.) Lisa once asked a friend's 6-year-old who was behaving badly, "Why are you so bad?" To which the bright lad offered, "Because I can be!" He knew his unbridled power, and wielded it indiscriminately. The U.S. is behaving much the same in its war policy.

President Lincoln asked General McClellan in the Civil War, General, if you are not using the Army, can I borrow it? Not only is Obama borrowing the Army to continue Mr. Bush's ill-advised adventures, but he is now extending the U.S.'s presence into new theaters; moreover, there is no Army from which to borrow in Libya, unlike the cover of the marginal Armies available in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We own scraps of paper indicating our exit dates from the first two engagements, but who can believe the U.S. will not leave troops in either country if they request we extend our presence to aid in their cause?

That is what our Army now does: Protect everyone and everything, except America.