We just learned that New Jersey’s Air National Guard is leaving to participate in “Operation Odyssey Dawn” already underway in Libyan skies, Save Jerseyans, but the precise goals of the international effort to clip Colonel Muammar Qaddafi’s wings still remain… unresolved?
As if it wasn’t clear before, Barack Obama’s America is abdicating its leadership role in foreign affairs. FRANCE had to step up and demand action as Libyan tanks mowed down Libyan rebels in the streets. Even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whose husband was arguably the least decisive president in U.S. history, has all but explicitly expressed her frustration with her boss’s incessant dithering.
Our latest run-in with the Arab world’s snappiest dresser did remind me of the events of August 2009 when Qaddafi tried to pitch a Bedouin tent on a Palisade Avenue lawn in Englewood, New Jersey.
The Libyan government had owned the Englewood property for almost 25 years since Qaddafi’s first visit to the states, and local officials were concerned that the Libyan dictator would set up there if the NYPD denied his request to camp in Central Park. You can’t make this stuff up! Few American towns would welcome an anti-Semitic state sponsor of terrorism with open arms, but Qaddafi’s interest in Englewood was particularly offensive due to the large local orthodox Jewish population.
Englewood and its mayor, Michael Wildes, petitioned federal and state officials while simultaneously raising the alarm through news available outlets. Qaddafi eventually backed down and Englewood’s residents breathed a sigh of relief.
Don’t forget Englewood is hardly “red” even by New Jersey standards – Barack Obama carried the town with 78% of the vote in 2008. Nevertheless, most Americans of every party affiliation still possess a clear idea of right and wrong, good and evil. Englewood didn’t like what Qaddafi stood for and acted accordingly.
The much-maligned President George W. Bush certainly knew how to keep Qaddafi in his place. Obama could learn a thing or two from both the former president and Englewood’s decisive stands when confronted with evil. Or, if he does not, many New Jerseyans (particularly Jewish New Jerseyans) should seriously think twice about the wisdom of reelecting a man who seems to care more about the NCAA tournament than protecting Americans and their vital interests.
Really? Englewood has cruise missiles and fighter jets? Gee..didn't know. I guess stopping someone from pitching a tent is soooo much stronger than cruise missiles and fighter jets and smart bombs. Yes…that's it.
You're an idiot.