Another Presidential War. Yawn.

Americans need to snap out of it. As recently as Bill Clinton, there was at least some concern when the president of the United States began bombing a country without a congressional declaration of war or national debate. There was a lot of concern building up to Bush’s war in Iraq, but the mass destruction he unleashed has apparently made Americans totally desensitized to presidential wars.

The Obama administration has just begun the “limited” U.S. attack on Libya. Dozens are dead already, and some reports claim many are civilians. The Senate had already called for No-fly Zones in a non-binding resolution, so probably Congress would support this anyway. But that is no excuse for the complete nonchalance the American culture has adopted toward the government’s widening the list of active enemies of the U.S. Obama has now conducted military operations of a significant nature in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. This is six countries that have been overtly bombed, if not militarily occupied, by the current president, who holds the Nobel Peace Prize. (If we count covert ops, the U.S. is certainly belligerently involved in many more countries than this.)

A lot is going on in the world, in politics, in the economy and pop culture. But when the U.S. goes to war with a country, everyone should care a little more—the American people, the media, the political left and right.

Anthony Gregory is a former Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and author of the Independent books American Surveillance and The Power of Habeas Corpus in America.
Beacon Posts by Anthony Gregory | Full Biography and Publications
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