Mac-Coleman

21 October 2011 –

One point to expand from yesterday: The U.S. and NATO achieved vital objectives by limited engagement in the civil war in Libya. I stressed that yesterday. We did not “lead from behind” in our NATO operations. We also did not do what many seem to think the term “leading” entails. We did not take over the operations of someone else’s civil war as if we, the superpower, should dominate everything we may tangentially touch. Many liberals and conservatives alike think that the only leadership worth exhibiting is when we take over everything. No. We actually achieved our vital objectives with minimum effort and with a minimum effect on the Libyan people, who would turn on us tomorrow if we were to have a permanent ground or air presence in or above Libya. That is not “leading from behind”. That is judicious and targeted use of American power to achieve limited and obtainable objectives. Now, NATO is meeting today to determine if air operations will continue until Libyan interim government forces have firm control over the country. I certainly hope that the success of our limited campaign will not seduce us this late in the drama into doing more than we can or should. You gotta know when to dance off the stage. If you stay too long, applause turns to tomatoes. In that theater, the tomatoes are primed to fly.