Obama Team Hits Panic Button on Libya
By Larry Johnson on March 30, 2011 at 6:10 PM in Current Affairs
Barack Obama failed Monday to make the case for the war/non-war in Libya to the American people and the White House, panicked by the tepid response, is leaking classified information about the CIA’s role in Libya. Let’s start with the public reaction reported by Rasmussen:
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% of Likely U.S. Voters rate the Obama administration’s response to the Libya situation as good or excellent, marking little change from two previous surveys. Thirty percent (30%) give the administration poor marks, up from 21% earlier this month before the president committed U.S. forces to Libya. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Forty percent (40%) of voters felt at that time that the administration was doing a good or excellent job responding to the political crisis in Libya. Last week, with the U.S. military actively involved in Libya, 41% rated the Obama administration’s response as good or excellent, but 28% said it was doing a poor job.
The numbers also worsened slightly for the president from last week when voters are asked if Libya is vital to U.S. national security these days. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of voters say yes, while 48% say no, up six points from a week ago. Twenty-four percent (24%) remain undecided.
But the real damage is being done by Jon Stewart, who is showing some nice non-partisan chops in giving Obama a comedy smackdown.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| America at Not-War – Obama Defends Military Action in Libya | ||||
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So don’t be shocked that the Obama team piled out of its clown car and scurried to dish national security secrets to the press with the hope of trying to alter the growing public view that Obama is a ball-less, spine-less wimp who has touched off a new war and is afraid to call it what it is. Specifically, members of Obama’s national security team are telling reporters that Obama has sent CIA operatives into Libya:
The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and make contacts with rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, according to American officials…
The C.I.A. presence comprises an unknown number of American officers who had worked at the spy agency’s station in Tripoli and those who arrived more recently. In addition, current and former British officials said, dozens of British special forces and MI6 intelligence officers are working inside Libya. The British operatives have been directing airstrikes from British Tornado jets and gathering intelligence about the whereabouts of Libyan government tank columns, artillery pieces, and missile installations, the officials said.
By meeting with rebel groups, the Americans hope to fill in gaps in understanding who the leaders are of the groups opposed Colonel Qaddafi, and what their allegiances are, according to United States government officials speaking only on condition of anonymity because the actions of C.I.A. operatives are classified. The C.I.A. has declined to comment.
I will bet you dollars to donuts that John Brennan and Deputy NSC Advisor Denis McDonough were out selling this story.
But this won’t stop the bleeding of public support. It requires Obama to offer a clear, principled vision to what the US is trying to achieve in Libya. Watching the rebels flee eastward is a reminder that Qaddafi ain’t going willingly or peacefully. If Obama wants him out then Obama needs to commit to regime change. Very simple. As I wrote in a piece earlier this week Obama never should have gotten out in public with the stupid remark about dumping Qaddafi unless he was prepared to do so. Once you go public you set expectations. Now that the CIA cat is out of the bag the entire operation is going to be tainted in the eyes of many of our European and Arab allies. This is only going to get messier and Obama will find himself an easy target of comedians who were previously inclined to give him a pass.
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