We came, we saw, Libya died

The US Secretary of State is charged with leading US diplomacy to promote peace by avoiding war. But back in 2011, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton substituted war for diplomacy in Libya, turning it into a failed state for the last nine years. Libya’s wily ruler Moammar Qaddafi had made peace with the US eight years earlier by ending terrorism, missile and nuclear development. He even became something of a darling to US hawks such as Sen. John McCain. But opposition that rose up against strongman Qaddafi in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings promoted Secretary Clinton to concoct a phony threat of genocide by Qaddafi against his people to change out the Qaddafi regime. President Obama and the UN bought into the false Clinton narrative, resulting in bombs away against Qaddafi's forces. The resulting rebel victory ended with Qaddafi dead from a grisly bayoneting...and the disgusting Clinton quote "We came, we saw, he died."

Turns out the victory was a catastrophe for the hapless Libyans who were not under threat of genocide by their longtime leader. Instead Libya quickly degenerated into numerous factions, including ISIS, fighting for control of this vast, oil rich land. The current battle lines pit the weak incumbent General National Congress government against the insurgent Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar. As with any country the US destabilizes, neighboring countries far and wide jumped in for political and economic reasons. Rebel leader Haftar has garnered support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE and the biggie Russia. The incumbent General National Congress is supported by Italy, Qatar and their biggie Turkey which is threatening to send in troops to protect Turkey’s interests. The US, after setting off the unfolding disintegration of Libya, has largely been on the sidelines, communicating to both sides, “Can’t we just get along?”

Hillary didn’t quite get it right when she gloated “We came, we saw, he died.” She should have substituted “thousands” for “he’”.