Discovering the Obama Doctrine

Discovering the Obama Doctrine

This column originally appeared in the Williston Observer on April 7, 2011.

President Barack Obama spoke to the nation last week to explain why the United States committed troops and material to aid the rebels in Libya. Though to many the reasons seem obvious - to avoid a humanitarian disaster of the types we regretted allowing to happen in Africa; because on March 17, the United Nations voted to impose a no-fly zone in the skies over Libya; and because though other nations' air forces are closer, there is no doubt that ours is the most capable and powerful - the President was right to explain himself to the American people.

In his speech on the 28th of March, Obama articulated a reason for the Libyan conflict that could be a policy, a Doctrine, he will apply in future conflicts:

"Mindful of the risks and costs of military action, we are naturally reluctant to use force to solve the world’s many challenges. But when our interests and values are at stake, we have a responsibility to act."

Not only when our interests are at stake, but also, perhaps more importantly, when our values are at stake.

Our values - the principles that we extol as examples for other nations, the principles that make us proud to be Americans, the principles that make us Americans - are what set us apart from modern barbarians like Muammar Gaddafi, North Korea's Kim Jong-il, al-Qaeda, and the Iranian state. We cannot sit back and watch, helplessly and impotently, as dictators slaughter their own people.

More importantly, these values are not uniquely American. They are universal - or should be. There is nothing uniquely American about love of freedom, of desire for a government run on democratic principles, of the desire to protect innocents from the vagaries of the powerful. These are human values.

Whether the forcible imposition of these values becomes a true "doctrine," a policy for use in future, unknown and unknowable situations, remains to be seen. But this is certain: it is honorable and even necessary. Even with our military stretched with a war in Afghanistan, extensive residual deployments in Iraq, and doing humanitarian work in Japan, we are capable of a mission such as that in Libya. As long as we are capable, and there is a need, we should act.

Ultimately, though, we cannot free the people of Libya. They must accomplish this goal themselves. They must convince Gaddafi's own military of the rightness of their struggle, convince Gaddafi's inner circle that they are sitting on the wrong side of the table, convince the people of Libya that the cause, that of freedom, is the right one.

Our own Revolutionary War history shows that winning the hearts and minds of the people is at least as important as military victory. It was an internal struggle that we had to fight and win ourselves. But at the same time, with the help of international friends, especially the French, our rebel forces were able to overcome an enemy that seemed superior in almost every way.

Like the French in 1781, the international community allying with the Libyan rebels against Gaddafi could be a turning point in their struggle. And, as in Libya, our help may be needed in other nations in the future.

The best way to bring change is at the ballot box. And change can be had. The people of Southern Sudan overwhelmingly voted for independence in January, and a peaceful separation of Sudan and Southern Sudan is planned for July.

When that sort of change is not possible, the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia show that the voice of the people can still be heard. Even without a peaceful vote, change can be had with a minimum of bloodshed.

For the intransigent dictator, though, armed conflict may be the only option. The people of Libya thought so. And when the international community saw that the rebels in Libya were serious, the weight of a UN resolution was thrown their way. It is not inconceivable that another such situation could arise in any of a number of other nations.

The Obama Doctrine, if it can truly be called that, is in line with our values and as such should be supported by all Americans. We do not want to get involved in the internal politics of every nation. But when innocent life is at stake, especially when freedom is the ultimate goal, we must be prepared to act.