A mere two days after her majesty Hillary Clinton reminded the NTC that "we" wanted Gaddafi dead or alive, our erstwhile allies came through. They got him. First alive, then dead. Hillary must be doubly pleased.
This is how it ends then, our Libyan adventure. The most powerful military alliance in the history of humanity has managed, after an eight month bombing campaign, to unseat the eccentric leader of a country with half the population of greater Los Angeles. This is how we measure success these days.
This triumph has succeeded, at least for today, in keeping far more interesting stories off the front page. Kenya's invasion of Somalia. Turkey's invasion of Iraq. The never-ending Euro-zone crisis. The ongoing OWS protests. All stories that have far more importance to the world and to America than the question of who rules Libya.
Nor does it end, of course. While it might be hard to imagine that it would require an eight month bombing campaign to unseat the mayor of Los Angeles, it's obvious that we don't have to. How much oil do we gain by toppling Villaraigosa? This end is but the beginning, though.
The immediate problem will be to suppress any hint that the Libyans themselves may be displeased with our "help". All Libyans, regardless of their loyalties a month ago or a year ago, get their power from the same electricity grid, get their water from the same water system, and use the same hospitals and schools. NATO smashed everything for everbody. The rebuilding will cost many hundreds of billions.
Obama and Cameron were both facing the press today with nauseating platitudes about standing with the Libyan people. I'm not sure that overflying the country with unmanned drones or Tornado jets qualifies as "standing with", even metaphorically.
Let's savour this "mission accomplished" moment. It won't last long.
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