http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/23/AR2011022305993.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
This article concerns President Obama’s stance (or lack of one) on the violence in Libya. The author of this article is obviously conservative and not an Obama supporter. Or maybe he is an Obama supporter and is just upset about the lack of information the Obama administration is releasing to the press on the situation. Basically the author of this editorial names administrations from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and says all condemn the violence in Libya that has been brought on by President Gudhafi. The Editorial clearly asks the question, “Why hasn’t Obama opposed the violence brought on by such a tyrant?”
In an attempted uprising protestors have been gunned down by security forces in Libya under the control of Gudhafi. That is a fact. But what isn’t a fact is if Obama didn’t wasn’t the first to start coordinating international plans to stop the violence in Libya.
The author’s credibility is completely overtaken by the video in the upper right hand corner of the editorial. Obama and Clinton clearly say that they have been working on plans to stop the violence if the violence does not stop. They say that the state department and other international administrations are doing everything they can to get Americans out of Libya and to communicate with Gudhafi. They also clearly say that a wide range of plans are ready to be carried out if necessary. And most will be coordinated with other nations around the world. The article cuts words out of its quotations and makes Obama out to be very passive on the situation in Libya, but this is not at all the case. In the press conference Obama says he and the rest of the world view the violence as appalling and says he will do everything in his power to insure the people of Libya are not deprived of their universal rights as human beings.
If I were to write an editorial on the matter I would mainly focus on the exact details on the situation at hand and the president’s take on it. Obama clearly was very knowledgeable of the problems in Libya from the video and said necessary actions will be taken. But still the U.S. cannot just lead a full on attack when protestors are violently killed. The U.S. cannot violate international agreements and the President must do what is best for Americans first and for most. And that sometimes means being level headed and not diving in unreadily into foreign problems.
