Did anybody else have a sense of déjà vu watching the start of bombing in Libya?
The lazy arc of antiaircraft rounds lighting up the night sky. The muffled sounds of shells and bullets. The controlled urgency in the voices of television commentators from deep inside the danger zone, as the U.S. waged war on a long-term, loose-screw madman with a penchant for evil and a willingness to attack his own people.
For most of us, the latest hostilities are a matter of been there, seen that.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
It’s not just Libya and Muammar al-Qadhafi, although there is a sense of distant replay there. When he targeted Libya 25 years ago, then-President Ronald Reagan called Qadhafi “the mad dog of the Middle East.” Maybe Reagan should have called him a cat, instead. Qadhafi has certainly had multiple lives, even rehabilitating himself and his country to the point where, under President George W. Bush in 2004, the U.S. restored diplomatic ties with Libya.
And just two years ago, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton proclaimed the U.S. valued its relationship with Libya. “We have many opportunities to deepen and broaden our cooperation, and I am very much looking forward to building on this relationship.”
Of course, as they say in Washington, that statement is no longer operative. In recent weeks, Clinton led the push for a no-fly zone in Libya. A lot changes when you start killing your own people.
The question now is how many political acts does Qadhafi have left? Will he wriggle off the hook -- again -- to terrorize again another day? Or, one way or another, is this his final act, at least in a leading role?
From where I sit, the situation that has pushed the three-pronged disaster in Japan off the front pages and deeper into television news shows is remarkably similar to the invasion of Iraq -- the first invasion, spearheaded by President George H.W. Bush. Iraq was the first military crisis of his presidency that was Bush’s own doing. After inheriting Iraq and Afghanistan from the second Bush, President Obama now faces his first “homegrown” battle in Libya.
Then, as now, the authority to intercede came in the form of a United Nations resolution authorizing “all necessary means” to control a tyrant. Both moves came with some backing from the Arab world: Saudi Arabia in 1991, Qatar now. And both were accompanied by hand-wringing from all directions in Congress -- some wondering how long the intervention would last and how much it would cost, and others asking why we don’t just kill the bad guy now and be done with it.
Another similarity: Those television images. While Vietnam was the first war brought into American living rooms, with dinnertime newscasts featuring fresh footage of fighting, the 1991 confrontation with Iraq was the first large military operation we were to watch live. Remember CNN’s Bernie Shaw, John Holliman and Peter Arnett, huddled in a Baghdad hotel room as the bombs started to fall? And those first “nightscope” images of tracer shells that kept us huddled around the television? Different war, different dictator, different reporters, but the visuals are largely the same.
Finally, both interventions were slow to develop, albeit for different reasons.
In 1990, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was followed by a trade embargo, a naval blockade and finally, on Nov. 29, the UN giving Iraq until Jan. 15, 1991, to withdraw. The air strikes started on Jan. 17, by Feb. 28 the fighting was over, and the next day, a cease-fire agreement was negotiated. This time, the Obama administration took an inordinate amount of time to decide how to proceed, drawing criticism from some lawmakers in both parties. Once the UN vote took place, though, the air raids began almost immediately.
Saddam Hussein, of course, stayed in power, to be dealt with more than a decade later by another president named Bush and winding up on the losing end of a hangman’s knot.
Like his Iraqi counterpart, Qadhafi got a second chance. Time will tell if it is his last.
-
Don’t Forget to Update Beneficiaries After a Gray DivorceSome states automatically revoke a former spouse as a beneficiary on some accounts. Waivers can be used, too. Best not to leave it up to your state, though.
-
What’s the Difference Between a CPA and a Tax Planner?CPAs do the important number crunching for tax preparation and filing, but tax planners look at the big picture and come up with tax-saving strategies.
-
AI Regulation is Looming: Kiplinger Economic ForecastsEconomic Forecasts Find out what Washington and regulators have planned for artificial intelligence.
-
The Biden Tax Plan: How the Build Back Better Act Could Affect Your Tax BillPolitics Depending on your income, the Build Back Better Act recently passed by the House could boost or cut your future tax bills.
-
Kiplinger's 2020 Election ForecastPolitics For nearly a century, The Kiplinger Letter has forecasted the outcome of presidential elections to keep readers informed of what's coming and what it means for them. Here's our call for 2020.
-
The 2020 Election and Your MoneyPolitics We’ve assessed how the presidential candidates’ stances on financial issues will affect your wallet.
-
5 HEROES Act Provisions with a Good Chance of Becoming LawPolitics The massive federal stimulus bill just passed by the House of Representatives is "dead on arrival" in the Senate. But a few proposals in the bill have enough bipartisan support to eventually become law.
-
Vote by Mail: A State-by-State Guide to Absentee Ballot VotingPolitics With health authorities recommending people continue to social distance, the idea of voting by mail is becoming an increasingly hot topic.
-
9 Ways COVID-19 Will Change the 2020 ElectionsPolitics The 2020 election will be like no other in history, as the COVID-19 pandemic will upend the business of politics as usual.
-
How to Run for Local OfficePolitics If you’ve ever thought that you could do a better job than the elected officials currently in office, here’s how to launch a campaign—and win.
