The reality of another deployment of U.S. military force in yet another part of the Middle East is disturbing. The reality of what might happen without intervention is more disturbing.
The civil upheaval in Libya has left the Obama Administration with no easy course of action, and no real option for a course of inaction.
Either way, the potential political liabilities are enormous. Once the commitment is made, there is no looking back, and any turn of events that leads the U.S. into a deeper or prolonged involvement will not be well-received here or abroad.
It is entirely in our best interest to have a role in what history may reveal as one of the most significant social and political uprisings in the past century. Likewise, failure to protect Libyan civilians against a vengeful Qaddafi would open us up to the charge of having allowed the inevitable atrocities the dictator would wreak on his people.
Once again, the U.S. is confronted with a foreign entanglement that goes to the ultimate question of just exactly what our role in the current world is, or should be.
As protector of the oppressed, we are compelled to act, and it is comforting to know at this juncture that we do so with the support of strong allies, and the consent of most of Libya's Arab neighbors.
As for American self-interest, there is an argument to be made that at this moment in time: It is entirely in our best interest to have a role in what history may reveal as one of the most significant social and political uprisings in the past century.
If what we have seen in Egypt and Tunisia is the beginning of a tidal surge toward democratic government in a region that has long been the province of autocrats and dictators, should we stand in the way? Should we actively nurture it along? And, if we don't nurture it, is that tantamount to standing in the way?
A generation ago, another American president demanded another authoritarian regime tear down a wall in Eastern Europe. The circumstances are different, and in the Middle East, the final landscape is still very far from taking form.
But as it does take form, the consummate question will be whether American interests in the region -- indeed, world interests in the region -- can be protected without the course of intervention we have now embarked on, for better or worse.
Email: cpsarras@ksl.com
The civil upheaval in Libya has left the Obama Administration with no easy course of action, and no real option for a course of inaction.
It is entirely in our best interest to have a role in what history may reveal as one of the most significant social and political uprisings in the past century. Likewise, failure to protect Libyan civilians against a vengeful Qaddafi would open us up to the charge of having allowed the inevitable atrocities the dictator would wreak on his people.
Once again, the U.S. is confronted with a foreign entanglement that goes to the ultimate question of just exactly what our role in the current world is, or should be.
As protector of the oppressed, we are compelled to act, and it is comforting to know at this juncture that we do so with the support of strong allies, and the consent of most of Libya's Arab neighbors.
As for American self-interest, there is an argument to be made that at this moment in time: It is entirely in our best interest to have a role in what history may reveal as one of the most significant social and political uprisings in the past century.
If what we have seen in Egypt and Tunisia is the beginning of a tidal surge toward democratic government in a region that has long been the province of autocrats and dictators, should we stand in the way? Should we actively nurture it along? And, if we don't nurture it, is that tantamount to standing in the way?
A generation ago, another American president demanded another authoritarian regime tear down a wall in Eastern Europe. The circumstances are different, and in the Middle East, the final landscape is still very far from taking form.
But as it does take form, the consummate question will be whether American interests in the region -- indeed, world interests in the region -- can be protected without the course of intervention we have now embarked on, for better or worse.
Email: cpsarras@ksl.com
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