At this point, I’m wondering what America stands for. And I suspect I’m not alone.We have a brutal dictator, who also happens to be criminally anti-American, at the first time in four long decades vulnerable to overthrow. We see him using mercenaries to cut down peaceful citizens, helicopter gunships and air force jets to strafe them. We see bodies lying in streets, victims of mortars and bullets powerful enough to penetrate concrete walls. And we do nothing.
All it would take would be one phone call to dispatch NATO jets to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. Then let the people decide for themselves. With Quadaffi’s unfair advantage gone, perhaps the army would abandon him quickly.
But all we get is a few pathetic empty words from our secretary of state, and silence.
Did not the same thing happen a year and a half ago in Iran? It was a golden moment for the lovers of freedom there. Millions took to the streets. As with Neda Soltan, they began to be wantonly cut down. They were imprisoned, they were tortured, they were systematically raped. They were killed.
And what did we do? Nothing. Our leader was “willing to talk with Iran without preconditions.”
And then, Egypt. Instead of strongly identifying with the forces of freedom, we stood off to the side, incoherently contradicting ourselves with every statement. Now that Egypt has thrown off its dictator, who will get the credit? It will not be us, and it probably won’t be the forces of real democracy. It will be the Muslim Brotherhood.
President Obama campaigned on the promise to restore America’s respect among the nations. One doesn’t do that by making articulate speeches. It is done by taking right stands on critical issues, even when those stands might be costly. America is finding herself on the wrong side of history, and that’s an expensive place to be.
In the past weeks, Obama has found time to give us his radical left opinions on a defacto teachers’ strike in Wisconsin (favorable), and on Planned Parenthood, in light of video revelations of its pervasive willingness to aid and abet child prostitution (also favorable). Yet he has not found the time to weigh in on the issues he was elected to deal with.
Jesus warned us that to whom much is given, much will be required. We are going to be judged based on what we were able to do vs. what we actually did. He also warned us that he who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.
In short, that boils down to use it or lose it. I fear that our nation is losing something very precious. And what begins in the spirit eventually becomes manifest. The Old Testament record is clear that whenever Israel strayed from the Lord, she fell into the hands of cruel enemies. Watch what happens now to the price of energy. Understand that these situations are of vital importance to the whole world, and wrongly handled they have to power to bring our economy to its knees. And maybe on our knees is exactly where we need to be.
I’m closing by including a short opinion by a noted political commentator.
It’s a little perplexing looking at the White House today. There was a statement on the horrible earthquake in New Zealand, and certainly our hearts go out to all those affected by this horrible natural disaster. But nothing on the slaughter in Libya? The protests in many places in the Middle East affect regimes that have cooperated with the U.S. on issues from peace with Israel, fighting al Qaeda, hosting our military forces, or cooperating against Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Gaddafi’s Libya is different. For four decades, this tyrant has held power. Gaddafi was Osama before Osama hit the scene. He ordered the bombing of a disco in Germany to kill Americans. When he paid the price for that – after President Reagan rightly ordered retaliation – he directed his agents to blow up Pan Am Flight 103. They did, and more than 250 innocent people died. Gaddafi tried to come in from the cold in 2003 – scared by the demonstration effect of Iraq. But we should have no illusions. Gaddafi is a brutal killer and Libya – not to mention the world – would be better off if he were out of power. Now is the time to speak out. Speak out for the long-suffering Libyan people. Speak out for the victims of Gaddafi’s terror. NATO and our allies should look at establishing a no-fly zone so Libyan air forces cannot continue slaughtering the Libyan people. We should not be afraid of freedom, especially when it comes to people suffering under a brutal enemy of America. Here’s to freedom from Gaddafi for the people of Libya. – Sarah Palin
