I still find my criticism of the Obama administration’s Libya policy is warranted. My criticisms were reconfirmed by todays news that the administration plans to introduce unilateral sanctions, meaning sanctions we put on Libya ourselves, against Gadhafi’s regime. In a another related note, the U.N. Security Council met today deciding to condemn the Libyan government for the violence and decided to draw up a package that would include its own sanctions, an arms embargo, and the cases of violence will be reported to the International Criminal Court (ICCC) for review. Additionally, the 47 member U.N. Human Rights Council decided to recommend that Libya be suspended from the its ranks and order an investigation.
Most of these actions were expected, but what was not expected was a statement by the interim Press Secretary Jay Carney who essentially said that all options, including military ones, were on the table. I will not hedge my bets on a U.S. invasion of Libya anytime soon.
However, what was missing from the Obama administration and the international communities approach to the situation was asking Gadhafi to leave. It is not like the elephant is not in the room. With tight sanctions being imposed on Libya and suspension from the U.N. Human Rights Council, it is obvious Gadhafi has little support. In order for any bite to be applied to all these actions President Obama must lead and tell Gadhafi to leave. Otherwise, with sanctions and embargoes, the Obama administration’s tough stance against this current crisis is nothing more than a facade. If the current administration was that concerned about Libya at the crisis level it appears to be in they would have asked the eccentric leader to abandon his post.
The policy might have teeth, but it is missing bite. Don’t be fooled by fancy condemnations and impressive sounding sanctions. It will take weeks before those votes happen and, until then, Gadhafi will remain in power, unless he decides to leave himself. This is now just a stronger wait and see policy and everyone is afraid to step up to the plate.
Photo Credit: Daily Telegraph
