Outside the Beltway

The U.S. seems to be on the verge of changing war strategies in Libya, even as it becomes clear that these rebels aren’t necessarily our friends.

The President’s winter polling bounce is gone, and he’s looking vulnerable again.

The “Obama Doctrine,” such as it is, seems to boil down to moral self-certainty combined with a glaring ignorance of reality. That’s a dangerous combination.

Dan Drezner: President Obama should give a speech that “clearly prioritizes American interests and values. Because unless the president defines his grand strategy, pundits will be more than happy to define it — badly — for him.”

One week in to Operation Odyssey Down, public opinion is, to put it as nicely as possibly, ambivalent.

As allied involvement in Libya’s civil war increases, there are signs that the rebels may not be able to close the deal.

Ten days after sending American forces into kinetic military action in Libya, President Obama addressed the nation to explain “what we’ve done, what we plan to do, and why this matters to us.”

Obama Captain America parody: I’m not punching you Gaddafi I’m having a limited humanitarian intervention with your face.

Senator Joe Lieberman said today that we should intervene in Syria using the same rationale we did for Libya. Because, you know, what’s the big deal about a fourth war?

President Obama’s grand coalition against Libya is a lot less than meets the eye.

Canada is leading the operation in Libya but no one is leading Canada.

Tom Ricks doesn’t understand why we need an exit strategy in Libya.

Humorous take on America’s wars.

The Libyan rebels probably aren’t strong enough to defeat Gaddafi on their own, and the no-fly zone isn’t going to be enough either. Which means this operation is going to be far more extensive than President Obama is willing to admit publicly.

The public, and Congress, are skeptical of the mission in Libya, and the reason for that is because the President has failed to tell us exactly why we’re there and what we’ll be doing.

It has become quite apparent that neither the White House nor our coalition partners have any idea what the path to an endgame in Libya even looks like. That’s not good.

Newt Gingrich on Libya: “This is as badly executed, I think, as any policy we’ve seen since WWII, and it will become a case study for how not to engage in this type of activity.”

The ACME Paint By Numbers Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

When America’s leaders make the decision to engage in military action abroad, has the time for debate ended, or is it more important than ever that those with doubts about the policy speak out?

Jorge Benitez has written a useful Libya Primer: Who is In Charge of Allied Forces? The short answer: No one.

Operation Odyssey Dawn has resurrected the eternal battle over what limits there are, and should be, on the President’s ability to use military force without Congressional authorization.