John Quincy Adams said about America:
“Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy … she is the champion and vindicator only of her own.”
But that was before the Imperium set in…
Because when at some point, Thomas Jefferson realized, you just can’t do business with pirates any more, he send in the navy to bomb Tripoli and get rid of Gaddafi’s predecessor pirate rogue gallery of Barbary coast dictators.
The story goes, that for years, the infant American government, along with many others, had accepted the humiliating practice of paying tribute — essentially mafia style protection money — paid to a handful of rulers in the Barbary states [Today's Libya] so that American ships crossing the Mediterranean would not get hijacked.
But in 1801, Tripoli’s pasha, Yusuf Karamanli, tried to jack up his prices. Jefferson said no. And when the strongman turned his pirates loose on American ships, Jefferson sent in the Navy to bombard Tripoli, starting a war that eventually brought the Barbary states to their knees. And ejected these rogue rulers to the depths of the then Ottoman Empire where they slept on…
As a result, Mediterranean piracy disappeared for the next 200 years till today. But today we have Gaddafi threatening to be the Terrorist-Pirate all over agin because the world opposed him and his slaughtering of the Libyan people…
Colonel Gaddafi had issued a chilling warning that suggested his determination to break the rebellion would not be broken by the threat of international action. “We are coming tonight,” he said. “Prepare yourselves… we will find you in your closets.”
That threat was expanded to all those who supported the UN resolution with a statement from the Libyan foreign ministry. “Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger,” the defence ministry declared. “Civilian and military [facilities] will become targets of Libya’s counter-attack. The Mediterranean basin will face danger.”
And because of that we are now near another enough-is-enough moment with the modern day terrorist pirate of Libya. This is the same Barbary coast type of rulers, Jefferson agonized over two centuries ago same as now Obama does.
And that’s a good thing. Nobody wants to rush in these things wildly…
But with the UN Security Council voting to pass UN Security Council Resolution 1973 yesterday, things changed in a hurry. No more hand wringing in the White House. Now is the time for forceful decisive action.
Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, discussed the passage of the resolution, which she said, was designed to protect civilians and strengthen the pressure on the Qadhafi regime. “The U.S. is very pleased with today’s vote and with the strong provisions of Resolution 1973. This resolution should send a strong message to Colonel Qadhafi and his regime that the violence must stop, the killing must stop, and the people of Libya must be protected and have the opportunity to express themselves freely.
“This resolution was designed to do two important things: protect civilians as well as strengthen the pressure on the Qadhafi regime through a substantial tightening of sanctions. Provisions for enforcement of the arms embargo, a ban on flights in and out of Libya with, in particular, a focus on those that may be carrying mercenaries, the designation of additional individuals and core Libyan-owned government companies for asset freezes, and a range of other very important measures. Taken together, the elements of Resolution 1973 are powerful and they ought to be heeded by the Qadhafi regime.”
“We think that today’s resolution is a strong message that reemphasizes what was already in 1970. As many of our colleagues you heard today on the Council said, and as the United States has said repeatedly, Qadhafi has lost his legitimacy. There is no justification for his continued leadership now that he has perpetrated violence against his own people. We have had the opportunity, as you acknowledged, to meet with the opposition, and we are actively looking at what options might follow.”
Make no mistake this is the Jefferson moment of Obama. Starting a just war effort with the Europeans and certain Arabs to rid Libya of a terrorist henchman. A rogue pirate designing to destabilize the Peace and Security around the world.
Getting rid of this vindictive monster is now possible again.
Yours,
Pano
PS:
Well done Mr President.
Godspeed and Goodluck.
