Joe Klein points us to the NYT:
Is Libya all about Iran?
Jeez, I certainly hope not. But David Sanger's reporting today tells us that at least some in the White House saw it that way:
The mullahs in Tehran, noted Thomas E. Donilon, the national security adviser, were watching Mr. Obama's every move in the Arab world. They would interpret a failure to back up his declaration that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi had “lost the legitimacy to lead” as a sign of weakness — and perhaps as a signal that Mr. Obama was equally unwilling to back up his vow never to allow Iran to gain the ability to build a nuclear weapon.
“It shouldn't be overstated that this was the deciding factor, or even a principal factor” in the decision to intervene in Libya, Benjamin J. Rhodes, a senior aide who joined in the meeting, said last week. But, he added, the effect on Iran was always included in the discussion.
That is truly embarrassing. We got ourselves mixed up in Libya because the President foolishly said that Gaddafi had to go and if Gaddafi didn't go, we'd look weak to the Iranians? OK, as Ben Rhodes, insists, it probably wasn't the "deciding factor," but if it was any sort of factor, it's...pathetic.
This sounds like the sort of thing you say if a) you don't know what your talking about, b) you're trying to persuade people who watch Fox news (including, maybe, Republicans in Congress). Sadly, a) strikes me as more likely given who Donilon is, but then again, he does have experience dealing with Republicans in Congress, less so with the rest of the world.
I've been wondering about the qualifications of National Security advisor Thomas Donilon for some time, it doesn't strike me as having the right background...how did he, a seven year veteran of Fannie Mae's Congressional relations, get there? Donilon being National Security Advisor only makes sense if dealing with Congress is the main issue for US foreign policy. Which, on consideration, might actually be true...food for thought. And yes, he was chief of staff for Warren Christopher and Democrats do need to earn a living when Republicans are in power.
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