For more than sixty years, the United States has played the role of the world's SWAT team. Now that Barack Obama has abdicated that role, the question has been who: who will step in? To my astonishment and relief, it hasn't been Russia, nor China, but--
Vive la France! At this moment, the French military is engaged in
Libya, Ivory Coast, and Afghanistan. (Above: Libyan rebels wave the French flag over a destroyed Gadafi tank.) France has always had a tough military and (unlike the US) a particular willingness to meddle in Africa.
Nick Witney of the European Council on Foreign Relations noted that acting quickly might have avoided a deeper shame with political consequences. “You might not reap popularity for taking action, but if we all stood by and watched a bloodbath in Benghazi, you might be slaughtered by public opinion,” he said. “After saying Qaddafi must go, if he’d crushed the opposition it would have been a huge embarrassment for the West.”
Indeed. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
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