Libya and the Empire of Liberty

                                          There should be no doubt that Muammar Gaddafi is a dictator. There is no doubt that he was a sponsor of terror. There is no doubt that he was responsible for ending the liberties of citizens of his country. In the fashion that Jefferson proscribed, President Obama set forth a policy that may indeed allow the Libyan people to set a course of self determination. At the moment there is a draft constitution, and considering that the majority of the population follows the religion of Islam, it is deemed to be the Supreme source for there laws. Nothing is final on that matter, what does however seem final is the strategy of removing a tyrant.
                                                     The people there are going to need time to reflect on how it is they wish to govern themselves. As Americans I would suspect that we would appreciate that. After 235 years the citizens of this country squabble all the time about the proper role of government. That is exactly how it should be. No one generation should have the right to dictate to another on how it should live, provided that there is an unquestionable respect and adherence to liberty. How a people wish to worship, and how they wish to observe the respect for the rights of each other is a sacred trust between those individuals, and God. Our best efforts are to be in engaging in trade, and seeking prosperity with one another. In that way we will have fulfilled Mr. Jefferson's view of an Empire of liberty.
                                                                                     Jefferson spoke of the barbarism of his time, and wished to see it recede from the Earth. Much as I would like to share that vision we have seen more rather than less of it on the planet. It does not relieve us of the duty to fight it. To stand by and allow tyrants to continue to rule as the norm rather than fight them, is to stand by and watch evil continue to flourish as the good do nothing to stop it. It is a duty that can lead this country to become the " policeman of the world " a position very few Americans wish to take, or pay for for that matter. I would consider that a reasonable position, however when the President set out to use our military to aid in the Civil war of Libya, he was following the view of Jefferson that the United States had a world responsibility to spread freedom across the globe. Considering that Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence I find it fairly easy to conclude that he knew a thing or two about tyranny and fighting for freedom.
                                                                                      The overthrow of political systems that do not adhere to, respect, or acknowledge the rights of individuals are justified, and the use of force to do so when peaceful means are exhausted  are simply the means left for individuals that are left with no other alternative. Gaddafi himself never had intentions of giving up sole power over Libya, as a matter of fact he was by his own account a socialist. Sponsorship of terror as a weapon, and sending arms to fight for causes that were intent on doing harm to peaceful people was his way to use the power he had to live the life of a pure evil hateful person. His rule has been in place since the late 60's and what he has overlooked is that the world has changed a whole lot since then. No free people should be terrorized for that length of time. No freedom loving nation should allow that kind of tyranny to exist for that length of time. Given that Jefferson was interested as part of the Empire to promote " republicanism " in the case of Libya our policy has been exemplary, and has included Nations from around the world to help in the effort. So much the better.
                                                                                 In the end the success or failure at this point depends on the American ability to act as leaders, rather than dictators. The rebellion has been respectful toward the help that our military and other nations military personnel have given. It is a grand opportunity to build on that respect. If patience is used there can be an ally to our benefit in the future. In that part of the world we can use more allies. We can use this opportunity for real peace in our time, for that part of the world. Let's hope the President, and Secretary Clinton have there eye on the 8 ball on this one. It is an important step. Now the next one is to look hard at the pro democracy movement in Iran. Those folks have been begging us for years to help them. In my view Mr. Jefferson would be pleased to hear we are taking steps to help them as well.