BHO Encouraging Qaddafi Return to Terrorism
A quarter century ago, Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi served as the Osama Bin Laden of the time. Brazenly sponsoring acts of terror against the US and other Western countries, he was responsible for the deaths of many Americans. Ronald Reagan described him in these terms, “…Qaddafi was an unpredictable fanatic. He believed any act, no matter how vicious or cold-blooded, was justified to further his goals.”
Any head-of-state embracing the recently released convicted killer in the Pan Am flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland would have been offensive to those of us who remember the wave of terror attacks against the US that culminated in 9/11. But for Qaddafi, who sponsored the killings, to publicly embrace Abdel Baset al-Megrahi upon his release is even more disturbing, especially when one considers how the Libyan leader had been distancing himself from terror against the US for decades.
After Qaddafi sponsored the bombing of a Berlin night club in an attack targeting US servicemen, President Ronald Reagan ordered the bombing of military targets in Libya that included the leader’s compound. Though he didn’t renounce terrorism at that point, he was humbled to say the least. He retreated to the desert, living in a tent as a Bedouin after he realized how vulnerable he was to American military power.
Following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi almost immediately volunteered to give up his age old pursuit of nuclear weapons and renounce terrorism. Though the dictator hadn’t been a prominent director on the terrorism stage since Reagan nearly obliterated him, he had never given up his pursuit to make Libya a nuclear power. US willingness to stand up to those who threaten or attack us convinced him.
Though it was a long, slow process, Qaddafi was clearly retreating from sponsoring or embracing terror and had come a long way in the process of bringing his country to a respectable status. Then this. The embrace of a convicted terrorist on camera for all the world to see.
Talk about turning back time! How did this happen?
Just last year, then-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice paid an historic visit to the north African country and announced the relationship between Libya and the US “has been moving in a good direction for a number of years now.” Now the dictator of 40 years honors the convicted killer of innocent women and children in an obvious show of respect for the murderer and his crime.
Weak-kneed liberals won’t understand how this happened, but bullies and dictators can only be controlled when they know there’s a real danger of their being defeated. Reagan’s flexing of American muscle sent Qaddafi to ground, hiding in his desert tent surrounded by his camels and goats. He popped his head up once in a while to rail against the US, but didn’t show it long for fear of having it shot off. Bush II made a believer of the Libyan leader when the US overthrew Hussein. For all of Qaddafi’s bluster, he always knew he didn’t stand a chance against us if we ever made up our minds to take him out. So he opted for self-preservation by turning from his evil ways that had made him our enemy for so long.
All of the respect built over the past three decades may now be fading fast as President Obama grovels at the feet of two-bit dictators around the third world, bows to foreign kings, and even denigrates our country abroad. Obama claims his foreign policy will result in better relationships with countries around the world. However, Qaddafi’s reversal and renewed support of a known terrorist lends credence to the hypothesis of the President’s critics–that demonstrating weakness will only embolden those who wish to do us harm.
After all, since Obama took office, Qaddafi has not only watched the US President wreak havoc on respect for America in the world, but he’s seen previously controlled tyrants slap the world’s most powerful country square in the face and get away with it. The Libyan dictator must have wondered why he’d acquiesced on the weapons of mass destruction issue when Kim Jong-Il’s nuclear tests and missile launches earned him nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And Qaddafi likely regretted turning his back on his terrorist allies when he watched Obama ignore those who stood and died in an effort to bring democracy and freedom to the world’s best known state sponsor of terror.
In short, he’s lost the respect for the US that previously encouraged him to give up his evil ways and tow the line that had begun to earn Libya a place among lawful nations.
Thanks to President Obama and his feeble foreign policy, we may once again suffer at the hand of a Libya that aids and abets those who seek to destroy us.
Iran Protest Coverage: Sun June 21, 2009
Yesterday I tracked coverage of the events in Iran on Twitter and posted them here. Though it’s late Saturday night in the US, it’s now Sunday morning, 21 June 2009, in Iran. I’ll update this post as events unfold throughout the day.
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Video
(scroll down to see most recent videos)
Dawn fires, explosions, and protesters cheering
Screams, sirens, and gunshots in the black of last night
Thousands marching, chanting “We are all together”
Sunday protest in the streets
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Unconfirmed Reports
(user names not posted for their safety)
11:06 pm CST FROM #IRAN* Tanks have rolled in Tehran … #iranelection
11:26 pm CST RT: There was a military tank in Azadi square last night. #iran #iranelection
11:47 pm CST RT From Iran: basij are beleived to be carrying out house raids, Please RT #iranelection
8:49 am CST Ppl getting ready 2close down main market in Tehran known as “bazaar” Wuld have big effect on Econ. #iran
12:34 pm CST RT from Iran: Still hearing gunshots from Tajrish SQ. People set fire and fired some Basijis motorcycles #iranelection
Iran Protest Coverage: Sat June 20,2009
Finally! At about 2:45 pm CST Saturday, President Obama finally released a statement in support of those standing for Democracy and freedom in Iran! The President refused to make the statement on camera, but included the following in a press release.
We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights. |
Protests continue in Iran, despite the threat of a violent crackdown by the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. I’ll be updating this post throughout the day with videos, photos, and reports from Twitter.
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9:01 CST Iranian state run media are reporting a suicide bombing of the shrine of Ayatollah Khomenei
More video
Protesters intimidating Basij militia
More protest video
Huge crowds protest today in spite of crackdown
Protesters running through streets, gunshots heard in background
Woman shot to death by pro-Gov’t Basij militia [GRAPHIC]
Protesters shot on camera [GRAPHIC]
Another protester shot in the street [GRAPHIC]
More protesters clash with militia
Protesters clash with police at Shiraz Unitversity
Police murdering protesters [GRAPHIC]
UNCONFIRMED REPORTS (via Twitter)
11:00 am CST RT from Tehran: There is bloodshed here. Some persons among the crowd have grenades (There is not clear who they exactly are) #Iran …
11:11 am CST RT F IRAN Chemical warfare?Evidently not boiling water but something else being sprayed from helicopters. via daily dish #iran #iranelection
11:29 am CST Protesters are being stopped, searched and their “weapons” (read: cell phones) seized. Information is power. #iranelection
12:20 pm CST #gr88 #iran09 #iranelection #Tehran Reports: People Blocking Streets at Tehran Pars (East Tehran) and Setting Fires
12:47 pm CST Injured [protesters] are being removed from hospitals and taken away by Basij #IranElection #Tehran #Mousavi #GR88 #iranelection
12:52 pm CST #IranElection #Iran Reports from the ground: Iranian govt is using Hezbollah against the protesters. Can NE1 confirm? http://tiny.cc/kEqS3
2:10 pm CST RT Hospital close to the scene in Tehran: 30-40 dead thus far as of 11pm and 200 injured. Police taking names of injured. #iranelection
2:18 pm CST POLICE HELICOPTERS NOW SPILLING ACID ONTO PROTESTORS FROM ABOVE #iranelection
2:43 pm CST RT News arriving that ppl planning to march into centre Tehran tonight as darkness falls. #iranelection #gr88 #Tehran
2:45 pm CST Zhila Baniyaghoob’s (woman activist) home has been raided #Tehran #iranelection #GR88 #mousavi
3:04 pm CST homes getting raided, journalists getting arrested. bad day in #iranelection
3:41 pm CST RT Eye witness reporting that milita use ambulances to lure people & then shoot them (Roodaki & Azarbayjan st.) #IranElection
4:09 pm CST Iran source says thr is a military tank in Azadi Square (I cnt confirm ths) #iranelection
4:11 pm CST IRAN FRIEND JUST SAID BASIJI ARE THROWING MOLOTOV COCKTAILS INTO CROWDS. #iranelection #iran. Trying to confirm elsewhere/ 1st hand
7:52 pm CST REPORTS THAT EMBASSIES ARE CLOSED! I STILL NEED CONFIRMATION! PLEASE RT! #IranElection #Iran #Tehran #Basij
8:37 pm CST Iran Basij are marking doors to attack later.Use oil/petrol to remove the mark from your door. #IranElection #Tehran
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