Sunday was the first day of spring, and Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle sprung into action.
First he probably trimmed his mustache. Then he emailed a statement accusing President Barack Obama of ignoring history by becoming militarily embroiled in Libya’s civil war. He also mocked the president’s recent win of the Nobel Peace Prize by pointing out this administration’s willingness to flex its military muscle in predominantly Muslim countries.
“President Obama’s decision to order military attacks on Libya is only surprising to those who actually think he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize,” Hinkle said. “He has now ordered bombing strikes in six different countries, adding Libya to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.”
“The goodwill expressed by Arab people about Obama in opinion polls early in his administration has completely vanished: in the most recent Zogby survey, 85 percent expressed an unfavorable opinion toward the United States, eclipsing the 83 percent negative opinion in the final year of the Bush administration,” Hinkle said.
Hinkle used the tried and true method of attack among political adversaries — he pulled out one of Obama’s old quotes and threw it in his face. A then-Senator Obama once criticized the Bush administration by saying, “The president does not have the power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”
Libertarians prefer a foreign policy reminiscent of one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, who advocated “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.” In other words, we should stay armed and ready to protect our own soil, but shouldn’t interfere militarily in other nations’ affairs.
I agree with Mr. Hinkle and of course he would throw the presidents own words back in his face, as you put it. Do the same rules not apply now that HE’s our president?
We didn’t like it with George Bush and we certainly don’t like with Barack Obama. As for Thomas Jefferson, I don’t recall it saying anywhere in the Constitution that our president should check with the international community before committing our troops and resources to intervene in a civil war in a foreign country; however I KNOW it says he has to get congressional approval. I have never agreed with Dennis Kucinich on anything in my entire life, but I do on this one. Our president has blatantly ignored the Constitution and once again bypassed congress.
But of course it’s this president, so whatever he wants, he just does and nobody says a word.
I got a gut feeling we should be prepared to see more warmongering behaviour from this president. My husband and son are both Marines, the President of the United states has full powers with the Marines. Needless to say when he was elected both my husband and son decided to not re-inlist.
Now personal feelings aside, this is such an obvious violation, will anything be done? Will he be put in check? How many lies, how many violations, how many assaults on americans human rights will this President be granted before anyone dare stand up to him?
i feel that i have become psychotic and am hallucinating Obama’s attack on Libya.