Yes, Saddam brutalized and murdered his political enemies, but the worst mass atrocity in Iraq was probably the gassing of thousands of Kurds before the first Gulf War (or maybe it was Iran who did the gassing, or both). Reagan armed both Iran and Iraq (not with the gas).

The subsequent No-Fly Zone in the northern provences effectively ended Saddam's attacks against the Kurds and Shias in the region.

Obama seems to be finding a middle-way between reckless interventionism and isolationism. This makes him unpopular with two kinds of Republicans and with the Newt who apparently is both kinds. The Turks will oppose boots on the ground so in this case the use of a coalition may be a good thing.

From today Press Secretary Jay Carney:

Bump.



Well, that seems to have gone pretty darn well, for the first stage. Gadaffi is in hiding and his forces in tatters, almost all of the country is now under the effective control of ... ah ... yes, that's the second stage.

I'm doubtful about what will happen next, but the 'remove Gadaffi' stage - given that a lot of the military stayed with Gadaffi and fought for him - really went about as well as it could have.

Reminds me of the Underwear Gnomes.

Steal underpants + ? = profits