General Discussion

Last edited Tue Jan 6, 2026, 02:40 AM - Edit history (1)

Obama:

"And yet, as much as I shared the impulse to save innocent people from tyrants, I was profoundly wary of ordering any kind of military action against Libya ... . And yet, as reports of hospitals filling up with gruesome injuries and young people being unceremoniously executed on the streets continued to trickle out of Libya, support around the world for intervention gathered steam. To the surprise of many, the Arab League voted for intervention against Gaddafi -- a sign not only of how extreme the levels of violence in Libya had become but also of the extent to which the Libyan strongman's erratic behavior and meddling in the affairs of other countries had isolated him from his fellow Arab leaders."

"Twelve days into the mission, NATO took command of the mission, with several European countries taking responsibility for repelling Gaddafi's forces. By the time I addressed the nation on March 28, the U.S. military had begun to move into a supporting role, primarily helping with logistics, refueling aircraft, and identifying targets"