Daily Dose 3.24.11

Well the airs strikes continue on Libya. I posted several times for a few weeks that some steps were needed to stop the carnage in Libya, but I never advocated using missiles and weapons. Somehow arming the rebels and dropping food and supplies would have seemed to be an easier way to go. Getting involved directly in another military conflict seems to be the wrong way to go. We are already involved in two other countries. We have high unemployment (probably 17 to 18 real unemployment), a mortgage crisis, a crumbling educational system and a 1.6 trillion dollar deficit and a national debt of over 14 trillion dollars. President Obama has yet to articulate exactly what the mission in Libya is. Is it to get rid of Gadaffi or is it a humanitarian mission to protect the rebels? Picking sides in these conflicts is always difficult. Killing by a leader on his own citizens is never an easy thing to watch, but to be honest we did the same thing during the Civil War. Those comparing it to Rwanda or Sudan are being far fetched in my view. Just because there is a problem in the world does not mean we should always act with military force. Many Congressman have raised the point that the President should have gotten Congressional authority to launch the attack on Libya. This is a valid point, but under the War Powers Act of 1973 the President has 60 days to carry out the necessary mission without that vote. Some may argue that the War Powers Act may not be constitutional since the Congress is supposed to declare war and be a coequal branch of government. It is a complicated situation, but it is clear that the President has not clearly articulated the mission. The larger point is what are we doing in all these countries? He has tripled the number of troops in Afghanistan and we have not gotten out of Iraq. With all of our economic problems it is troubling that the focus is firing cruise missiles. The White House referred to the action as a "Kinetic Military Action" (http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/03/white-house-libya-fight-not-war-its-kinetic-military-action). So let me get this straight..Firing 200 cruise missiles into another country is not a war? Give me a break. It is a war and the White House is failing to admit that. This country needs to get its priorities straight. I have never seen things so out of sorts. We need leadership badly and it is clear we are not getting it.