The Obama Doctrine

Dear Mr. President,

According to today’s NYT (“U.S. Raids in Libya and Somalia Strike Terror Targets” p.A1), 3 vehicles carrying FBI and CIA agents surrounded Abu Anas al-Liby in Tripoli yesterday as he was parking his car and captured him “peacefully.” “A senior American official said the Libyan government had been apprised of the operation and provided assistance.” Al-Liby is “no longer in Libya” he said. But the Guardian reported later that the Libyan government is demanding an explanation for the “kidnapping” of a Libyan citizen by U.S. forces (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/06/libya-kidnapping-citizen-us-forces-raid-somalia). That report also stated that two cars and a bus with blacked-out windows carrying Delta Force commandos pulled up at the family home in a quiet suburb of Tripoli, surrounded al-Liby’s car, smashed the windows, grabbed his gun, dragged him out of the car and sped off with him. Not exactly peaceful but a lot less brutal than the murder of Miriam Carey last Thursday by the Capitol Police. The Guardian also reports that “Pentagon spokesman George Little said al-Liby is “currently lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya.” I realize al-Liby is an alleged leader of Al Qaeda wanted by the FBI, but I remember you condemned rendition and declared it would end. How is this different than the CIA’s kidnapping of an Egyptian-born cleric off the streets of Milan in 2003 and rendering him to a prison in another country? Is rendition under Obama different than rendition under Bush? The NYT article also stated that “Libya has collapsed into the control of a patchwork of militias since the ouster of the Qaddafi government in 2011.” So much for your “humanitarian mission” to Libya to prevent the loss of life. And for your promise of “no boots on the ground” in Libya. There they were Saturday, a busload of them. As for the other raid by Special Forces yesterday, that one didn’t work out so hot. Your Seal Team Six assassins don’t get a Mission Accomplished banner or high-fives from the Prez on the Somalia raid. Swam ashore in predawn darkness like in the movies and advanced on a villa housing their quarry but ran into “unexpected resistance.” A firefight ensued and they withdrew back into the sea from whence they came without a capture or a kill. Our foreign policy seems to be we do whatever we want whenever we want wherever we want. Unless the country is strong enough to resist. That’s the Obama Doctrine.