Bacevich on Libya and Futility

Once again, historian and former senior officer Andrew Bacevich grasps the obvious on the use of military power in the middle east, this time in Libya.

As with Iraq, he argues, the why of this misadventure will never be known, and in any coherent sense, probably does not exist. The important point is therefore how and the how that we keep grasping at is the use of force. As he argues

Perhaps Barack Obama found his political soul mate in Samantha Power, making her determination to alleviate evil around the world his own. Or perhaps he is just another calculating politician who speaks the language of ideals while pursuing less exalted purposes. In either case, the immediate relevance of the question is limited. The how rather than the why is determinant.
Whatever his motives, by conforming to a pre-existing American penchant for using force in the Greater Middle East, this president has chosen the wrong tool. In doing so, he condemns himself and the country to persisting in the folly of his predecessors. The failure is one of imagination, but also of courage. He promised, and we deserve something better.

Ten years on, Afghanistan is a sinkhole -- a kleptocracy whose only virtue is that it is our kleptocracy, though not so much and likely not for long. Iraq has, almost inconceivably, been left worse off than we found it. And Libya looks to be emerging as more of the same.