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Mohammed Dabbous / Reuters, file
Libya's national assembly elected Ali Zeidan as prime minister on October 14. His transitional government would replace an interim administration appointed in November after Moammar Gadhafi's death.
TRIPOLI, Libya -- Protesters stormed Libya's national assembly on Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of a vote on a proposed coalition government named by the country's new prime minister just hours earlier.
Fewer than 100 people, made up of civilians and former rebel fighters, charged into the meeting hall of the General National Congress as it voted on Prime Minister Ali Zeidan's cabinet line-up, which was drawn from liberal and Islamist parties.
In chaotic televised scenes, congress members negotiated with the protesters, who were unhappy with some of the nominations, to leave. Voting then briefly resumed before being interrupted a second time, leading congress president Mohammed Magarief to announce the session was postponed to Wednesday.
"Let it be known to all Libyans and to the whole world in what conditions we are working in," Magarief said.
For Zeidan to take office, the congress has to approve his transitional government, which will focus on restoring security in the oil-producing country where many militias have yet to disarm since Moammar Gadhafi's overthrow last year.
Libya's new president, Mohammed Magarief, tells NBC's Ann Curry that the recent trouble in Libya is the unfortunate price of creating a democracy after decades of dictator-rule. Magarief lived in exile for 20 years in Atlanta before returning to Libya and becoming president.
Zeidan's transitional government would replace an interim administration appointed in November after Gadhafi's death.
Some ministers come from the liberal National Forces Alliance or the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, the Justice and Construction Party, the two biggest parties in the 200-member congress. Others are independents.
Aware of Libya's sharp regional tensions, Zeidan said he had tried to strike a geographic balance among his 27 ministers.
"No region has been favored over any other," he told congress earlier on Tuesday. "We don't want to repeat mistakes or provoke the street."
Congress elected Zeidan as prime minister this month after his predecessor, Mustafa Abushagur, lost a confidence vote on his choice of ministers, criticized inside and outside the assembly.
Goran Tomasevic / REUTERS
An uprising in Libya ousts dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
A former career diplomat who defected in the 1980s to become an outspoken Gadhafi critic, Zeidan will govern the country while the congress, elected in July, passes laws and helps draft a new constitution to be put to a national referendum next year.
Security challenges
Outgoing Defense Minister Osama al-Juwali exposed the scale of the security challenge facing Libya's new rulers when he said on Monday the government had no control over Bani Walid, a former Gadhafi stronghold captured by militia forces supposedly loyal to Tripoli on October 24.
Patrick Kovarik / AFP - Getty Images
A look at the life and times of Libya's mercurial and flamboyant leader
Al-Juwali said he had tried to visit the town, but troops accompanying him had been denied access. This, he said, showed that "the chief of staff has no control over the town, and this might mean armed men won't allow civilians to go back."
More Libya coverage from NBC News
Five days earlier, the army chief of staff had announced the end of military operations in Bani Walid, one of the last towns to fall to rebels in last year's war, but which some militias had accused of still sheltering Gadhafi supporters.
Last year's fight that ended in Gadhafi's ouster and death after 42 years in power was largely carried out by regional militias that amassed weapons. But long after the civil war ended, the militias continue to serve under their own leaders and wield significant power even though they have nominally come under the control of the state's military and police forces.
The lack of control of the government over the militias it relies on was brought home in the starkest terms on Sept. 11, the day of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, the eastern city where last year's uprising against Gadhafi began. The Islamist group Ansar al-Shariah, one of the biggest militias in Benghazi, is suspected in the assault that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Officials in Libya say they have arrested four suspects in connection to the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi in which U.S. ambassador Stevens and three embassy staff were killed. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Tripoli.
The killings in Benghazi fueled popular anger against the militias. Just a week after the assault, tens of thousands of Benghazis attacked the headquarters of Ansar al-Shariah and another militia in Benghazi and drove them out.
The government took advantage of the public anger. In the days after the attack, authorities carried out high-profile weapon hand-ins in Tripoli and Benghazi and issued ultimatums for all militias to submit entirely to government control.
Friends and family members of the victims of the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, recall loved ones' bravery and courage. TODAY's Savannah Guthrie reports.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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You are all looking for any reason to hate Obama. Do you always believe every single thing you read in print as the gospel truth; or just when it fits your needs? They ALL lie!!!! Every single one of them lie!!!! Well then I guess I pick Obama’s lies over Romney’s and Bush’s lies any day. Four people got killed!!!!! Sorry, but 6,630 people have been killed in two wars; now that is what really matters!!!! The entire region is a volatile mess, but it is their Countries and not our Country. Ambassador Christopher Stevens knew what he was getting into and he knew the risks; just like a solider knows and understands the risk of war. You act as if they had more security that would of stopped the attacks. Well, when there is a will, there sure as hell is a way; especially if you are a terrorist and that is your reason for living. You all act like you are sitting in the White House and you all are arm chair mini presidents. Get over your self. This incident is minor in the huge picture of the United States of America. Perfidious!!!!! Show me one that hasn’t been!!!!!!!
Typical Obama Apologist...This is the result of the Obama Doctrine "Duty to Protect"...protect who from what ???.....Libya but not Syria....Egypt Arab Spring, but not Iranian Green Revolution.....taking sides without knowing who the other side is....Pretending to "Normalize" Diplomatic relations with Governments that don't exist....all to make it appear that his policies are successful....Claim investigations are ongoing....Panels and Commissions to report after the Election....That's the goal of the last 7 weeks since Benghazi....
How long does it take to produce this so-called Directive Obama said he issued the day of the attack....What, no paper trail ??....Only two possible explanations .....1.) Obama lied when he told the American People he gave one, OR 2.) Secretary Panetta and the Joint Chiefs of Staff ignored it, as they thought they knew better and should be fired immediately and brought up on charges....Which is it....Americans want to know.....TODAY, not Nov.7th.
Iranian born Valerie Jarret who discovered Obama in Chicago has transformed him all the way from Community Organizer to President ....She tells him how to put his pants on every morning....The Chicago Political Mob Machine in a Dress...She is the driving force to bring Muslim Brotherhood into the mainstream of WhiteHouse positions and acceptance...A clear and present danger
Kim, what does that have to do with this report? You appear to just be raving when you start a thread like this. Check the topic please.
Bushes and co dancing as directed by Sunni Saudis, oil companies, extremist Jewish lobbys invented these mess.
Iraqi wars and Afghan war destroyed US and allies reputation, losses in Iraqi wars, crippled US and allies all over the world and invented economic mess in US and PIIGS.
In 21st century, how oil can become a critical factor in all policies and actions?
Bushes and co put US on wheel chairs.
It is only three years since Obama has come and he and his team are trying to run on wheel chairs!
If Romney and his team wins, there will another bunch of Syria and Iran intereventions; soaring oil prices; and more human and economic loses.
Even the wheel chairs will be broken!
Kim your off topic but yes Obama has to be responsible for the mess in Libya and wasting a billion dollars creating a terrorist Islamic brotherhood haven in Libya.
Jonathan - For you everything is Sunni and Jewish conspiracy, with no foundation whatsoever. You have lost credibility in your comments.
Thankfully I have the ignore button for Jonathan, what a racist freak he is!
farideh kashanian: What about you? Why don't you people volunteer for wars in Syria, Iran and other places?
Let not some poor soldiers get injured and suffer for life and deaths with grieving family members.
Have the US and allies won a major war since WWII?
Kim from Utah= You seem to be a very intelligent person. I have not read anything that I could agree with more. Thank You for your insight.
More Chevy Volts and a new Charging Station for the Embassy in "dangerous" Vienna at the same time Denying increasing or even keeping the same level of Security for Benghazi....Those forces were reduced in August 2012....just weeks before the massacre....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/10/kelly-libya-security-cut-while-vienna-embassy-gain/
Gee, and I thought another U Tube video had been released and was the cause for the rebel fighters and protesters to storm Parliament!
And yet no concern of NatGeo airing made for TV Propaganda movie, heavily edited to make Obama look super-duper in taking out bin Laden, 2 Days before the Election....I'm sure the jihadist will be comforted to find out that Osama, after taking two to the head, was still twitching on the floor and got six more to the chest....The Sept.11 protesters at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and elsewhere were chanting, "Obama, Obama, we are Osama".....Not, "We don't like youtube video none of us have seen".....
""Let it be known to all Libyans and to the whole world in what conditions we are working in," Magarief said."
Everyone is trying to make sense out of nonsense going on in Muslim nations like Libya.
Here Sunni Saudi Arabia's extremist Islamic version's fast increasing influences all over the Muslim world are primary culprit. Examples are Salaffi, Wahhabi, MB, and others!
Suffice it to say, I don't get the impression that this "new and improved" Libyan rogue regime.......ahem......*cough*......excuse me.........."democratic" government is going to be one that the U.S. and the West are going to like all that much. And we'll be cursing the day we intervened in that mess. Just call it a gut feeling. And we've seen this movie a few times before, haven't we?????
That's gotta be a rock-solid government there, if 100 people can keep the national assembly from voting.
Bill, depends on the type of rock you are referencing, if it is sandstone, then yes I would say it is rock-solid.
Whether or not the US likes it is quite beside the point. What matters is if the Libyans like it. They fought and bled for this, all we did was drop some bombs.
Personally, I find it quite heartening that people can protest a cabinet appointment and nobody gets killed. Obviously the government should be able to hold a simple vote to form a cabinet without being harrassed by angry citizens, but it's still a huge step up from dictatorship.
Actually, it was the French and NATO forces who took the lead in enforcing the no-fly orders and went on most of the missions. Let's not succumb to the media hype that America was solely responsible for the overthrow of Ghaddafi. By comparison, our role was small. We neither deserve the blame nor the praise for it's outcome. Also, Syria is a far different situation. We need to keep away from Syria. Let Turkey and NATO sort it out. We are already learning in Syria that one side is just as bad as the other, and I believe this lesson will be also learned and witnessed in Libya as it nears fruition. Lastly, let's not forget that the Muslim Brotherhood represents strict Sharia Law. Nothing good will come of either country in our lifetime. We should not busy ourselves with either country. Instead, we need to work towards an "America First" mindset.
America's withdrawal from the world stage is hardly a desirable outcome. I want nothing to do with such a corrosive, nationalistic mindset, nor a superpower that twiddles its thumbs while the world burns around it.
If we do nothing, then we can't be surprised when our enemies gain influence and grow powerful. Even if we fail to get the outcome we'd like, we have to try to help the people in the world who need it.
We pretty much run NATO. We use it to provide cover for our military decisions when we don't want our fingerprints on the gun. Obama has made a serious error in Middle East policy. I don't blame them for feeling betrayed by America...we have all been betrayed by Obama.
And on this topic, it is more evidence that there are many armed (maybe well armed) groups that want nothing to do with equal representation for all, they want pure strangle hold control. This region's problems don't appear that they are going to go away soon!
Duhbya [sic] screwed up the Middle East and Romney wants to mess with Russia, which could and should be our biggest ally. Culture, technical expertise, oil surplus, and fighting Islamics on their Southern borders while having to stare the Chinese in the face to their east.
Let Jehovah the Almighty God take over protecting Israel. His chosen people only have to pray once a week.
I'd rather be allied with the Chinese than that snake Putin. Why would, or should, Russia be our ally?
Good Cop, Bad Cop.
Hawk and Dove...
Almost sounds like a lot of grown men wanting to play with their toys for no useful reason. Tweeking China and North Korea is half the fun. I doubt China is amused by it. Kim Jung Un will probably be frothing at the mouth. You'd think folks have better things to do. Will take 50 billion to get over the hurricane Sandy mess, and we're spending money playing war games. Lovely.
Better keep away from Muslim nations including Syria, Iran and other places. Or else be prepared to go for the worse situation of nuclear war too!
Hope people have learnt something from Iraqi wars, Afghan war, Libyan experience and other disasters in Muslim nations previous to them.
Followers of Islamic cult, especially Sunni Saudi inspired Islamic radicals and militants (al-Qaida, Salaffi, Wahhabi, MB, Taliban and other label ones), are fast marching backwards to their seventh century desert tribal days.
They are indulging in rapings, lootings, killings and genocides of non-Muslims (Darfur, S. Sudan, Nigeria and spreading like wild fire in many regions and Muslims (Libya, Yemen, Mali, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places).
Sunni Saudi backed Salaffi and MB new chapters are opening up in Egypt. Just watch the fate of Christians, women and Israel as the time goes by.
Even in Syria, if Assad is overthrown by Sunni Islamic religious Nazis like al-Qaida, MB, the conditions of Christians will be unbearable just like Iraq.
Pakis and Sunni Saudis and co are responsible for 80 percent of world problems including economic ones. Examine the devastations with Iraqi wars and now sanctions on Iranian oil and the resultant oil price manipulations.
They are making the lives of their own people also miserable by their Islamic religious madness to the intolerable levels.
You are talking about rapings, killing and genocide of non muslims in those countries? Do you have any clue who is behind it? do you follow the world news to educate yourself as which country has been sending arms and "advisors" to rebels of those countries killing the non muslims? Yes - IRAN.
You need to take your blinders off and stop your love affair with the Iranian shia murderes. Unless you are an Iranian, behind a "jonathan" name, and a member of the blood thristy ayatollah team, you have NO CLUE what is going on in Iran, and how many "disappear", end up murdered, raped, stoned and hanged from cranes.
Go away and educate yourself. Your hatred of jews and israel is not enough to give an ounce of credibility to your uninformed comments.
What I learned from the Iraq war is that change to democracy has to come from within, not without.
Say what you will about Libya - and I certainly see a lot of pessimism and prejudice on this board - they're dooing much, much better than post-Saddam Iraq. And people who love to criticize Libya and Egypt for their Islamist governments and stuttering progress on democratic reform seem to just ignore Tunisia, which has elected a largely liberal government and is progressing quite smoothly on its path to modern, secular democracy.
Additionally Jonathan, I hope you realize that staying away from these nations in conflict and withholding support will INCREASE the influence of the forces you warn against, primarily the religious fanatics and Iranian proxies.
farideh kashnian: You need to learn history of Islam and how Aremians were wiped out in Turkey in early 1900.
You appear to be posting some nonsense as a Christian right! Hope you read it well and understand the realities. This applies to SF accountant as well.
I oppose US getting involved in wars at least for a decade! Let us fix mess internally!
Let me repost what on Iraqi wars brought! What is your problem if Shiites and Sunnis kill each other as in Syria?
Just like before each Iraqi wars, autocratic, highly corrupt and despotic bigoted Sunni Sunni Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwaiti and Sunni oil rich nations are stage managing their dances and actions through oil companies, extremist Jewish lobbys, Christian right and their puppets in the US, Britain, EU and other nations on Syria and Iran.
In these bombings, Sunni Saudi proxy al-Qaida is involved. In Syria, Syrian rebels are backed by a-Qaida and MB. In Egypt, Islamic fundamentalist Morsi is a front cover for the Sunni Islamic extremist Salaffi, MB and others.
With sanctions on Iranian oil, oil prices which was around $40 in 2009 has crossed $110 now.
If Iraqi wars gave us PIIGS, there will more nations added to PIIGS.
ME is not our business. Just keep miles away.
IRAQ WARS
Net results of Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, oil companies and their lobbyists directed 1991 and 2003 Iraqi wars are
WINNERS
1. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and other rich ME sharks became richer by manipulating oil prices too high.
2. Oil companies and their lobbyists also benefitted. Oil prices, which were hardly $30 a barrel before 1991, shot up to $140 a barrel.
3. Since 2003, future traders, rating agencies, Wall Street and oil companies and their lobbyists transferred five trillion dollars from oil importing countries to oil exporting nations.
4. Rich Sunni ME sharks (Saudi Arabia in particular) funded Salaffi and Wahhabi mosques and Islamic radicals and terrorists all over the world. These Sunni Islamic radicals and terrorists are rampaging all over the world. World’s 80 percent of problems are due to them.
LOSERS
1. General US and European nations’ public. There have been high unemployment, cut in welfare measures, housing market collapse and more miseries. Since 2001, US spent three trillion dollars on Iraq and Afghan wars. Did the Saudis and co foot the bill?
2. Poor soldiers killed and injured and their families. In Iraq and Afghan wars 6300 soldiers were killed and 40000 injured.
3. High budget deficits and heavier borrowing. Many nations (PIIGS) and people are on line to bankruptcy!
4. Iraq will plunge into bloody sectarian civil wars leading to the creation of Shiastan, Sunnistan and Kurdistan. Here the losses are of Iraqis.
In a tribal climate as dynamic as the one that exists in Libya trying to build a coalition of unity is going to be extremely difficult.
Maybe not. Libya may have a strong tribal dymanic, but its cultural is fairly homogenous. Unlike Syria, which is riven by sectarian division and different ethnicities. The tribal nature of the country will probably encourage greater regional control as opposed to a stronger central government, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. What's important is if they can get through the struggles ahead peacefully, without allowing religious fanatics to stymie their progress.
It took the United States 6 years to create a working, functional, central government under our current Constitution. Now we expect a country even more divided than our early colonies to settle down after little more than a year?
I suspect that there will still be a power struggle there for years to come. I hope it works out like it did for us. But that's the thing about revolutions - it can go just about any direction after the initial fighting is done. I still would rather be on the side of the people this time around, rather than side with an oppressive dictator simply for the sake of "stability". That kind of policy has rightly earned us a very poor reputation in the world.
I agree fully. Libya is actually doing remarkably well for a country that just came out of a revolutionary war. Especially considering the lack of civil institutions in the country.
Dictators will always be the enemy of the free world, no matter how convenient for US interests. Their "stability" comes at the cost of the people's dignity and freedom, and every time we stand by them we dent our image as a so-called champion of freedom a little more.
I miss the Good Ole Days when the Soviet Union was the Major Threat and Islamic Terrorists were just a side show.
I wonder if they didn't get money from our insatiable appetite for Oil, would they be the threat they are today?
Probably. Most of the terrorists aren't actually funded by oil interests. The countries we're currently having trouble with (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria), have insignificant oil supplies. The idea that everything in the Middle East revolves around oil is desperately overstated, because it's so much simpler than geopolitics or sectarian division.
It's rapidly becoming a region of failed states - Libya, Syria, Western Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan...
Someone better make sure the drones are ready because they're going to be running 'round the clock for the next 30 years...
It'd be nice if the President and/or the Governors of the worst-affected states would declare a three-month moratorium on rents, loans, and mortgage payments for people and companies under a certain amount of net worth (obviously not rich people and businesses).
If there's no public transportation, people can't get to work. If they can't get to work, they can't pay their rent. If their landlords can't collect rent, they can't pay their own mortgages.
Wrong thread "Lets do this"
In 1947 Israel was not getting the result they wanted which was freedom from England and their own statehood. They then decided to take their terrorist activities - which they were called "freedom fighters" - to London and starting blowing things up. After a period of time and many bombings and acts of terrorism, England finally relenting decided it was not worth their trouble and gave Israel (in 1948) what they wanted. Why is this fact significant? Because, it showed the Arab and Perisan world that terrorism works. They learned from the Israeli's. Since then, terrorism has trumped diplomacy in the middle-east and is still used by many leaders and groups. It will get worse because we cannot understand that our presence in the ME is simply an amateur act of trying to induce Democracy into a land who's people cannot evolve into it overnight. They are living in 800 B.C. when they use religious fanatacism as their one and only rule of engagement and their interpretation of their Qu`ran dictates that all infidels be driven from their lands. We are foolish enough to believe we can change it rather than let them evolve. Afghanistan is the best example we can learn by because if we were there another 100 years, it still would not change. Our enemy is not these people of the ME. Our enemy is within ourselves. We need to withdraw from the ME and North Africa and let them evolve. If mistakes are to be made, then, let the Russians, Chinese, and French make them. Our dog should not be in that fight. They do an excellent job of killing each other. They do not need our help doing that.
One country's "terrorists" are another country's "revolutionaries". Predates 1947 by a long shot. Go back to the US revolution - I guarantee you that if that had happened today, our revolutionary heroes would have been called terrorists by the British. All depends on who wins the struggle as to what they will be called in the future.
brisaber..
are you sane?
different time, countries, causes, and people..
Brisaber -
I did not use that (although tempting) because it was the British who were committing terrorist acts against the colonials, to which they simply responded with insurgency warfare which led to organized militias and a revolution. Far different than their conduct in what is now Israel in 1947-1948. It (our revolution) was also not precipitated by religion and huge cultural differences.
Actually, the Brits imposed taxes. Maybe financial terrorism, lol, but not violent. The colonists responded by attacking British commerce and trade, and it escalated from there. The result was our revolution. Different time, different cultures, different people ... sure. But that was my whole point. Revolutions are not unique to this present time, and revolutions always go after non-military targets as well as military. There were attacks by our revolutionaries against British trade throughout the revolution. If you take out the filters of it being done in this country way back when, sounds a lot like what we now call terrorism. Only difference is we won, and we eventually came to count on the Brits as our friends. But it wasn't always so.
The term "terrorism" is actually relatively new. But although the language has changed, the act or rebelling through the use of violence has a very long history in this world.
Well, I generally consider terrorism and rebellion two different things, but yeah.
When you look at the Revolutionary War in retrospect, America actually had a very poor case for rebellion against England. And we were extremely lucky that we not only won, but that we emerged from the devastation and managed to rebuild such a strong republic. There's nothing unique about revolutionary violence, whether from Israel, America, Libya or Afghanistan. All you can do is gather as much information as possible and judge case-by-case whether a cause is just or even viable.
the benghazi fiasco is a powderkeg due to blow up any day..
this president lied and four americans died..
he broke it and he owns it..all by himself, without congressional approval..
this is his waterloo..
al queda and the muslim brotherhood will reign in libya and it will take strong actions to contain them..
president romney will do this..
Ambassador Cris Stevens died, and Barak Hussein Obama, lied. The cover-up is ongoing!
Romney Ryan 2012!
Just my thoughts..
Does that mean, you, Mitt Romney the Vietnam Draft Dodger and his Five Cowardly Sons who never wore a uniform are ready to suit up and head on over there or is that for some 47% kid to do?
This Veteran would love to know...
I served my time in Nam, so don't give me your crap.
What uniform did Mr. Obama wear?
This vet just wants to know how much our President cares about our Ambassador? Not much I see.
Romney Ryan 2012!
Thank you for your Service!
I can't say the Same for Ryan and Romney, neither Served but they like running off at the Mouth.
At least Sarah Palin has some real skin in the game, her kid in Uniform, she would have made a much better President then Romney who sat out Nam in France eating French Fries.
If we have to go to war we have to go, I just don't trust these Chicken Hawks who talk tough when someone else s kid is on the line.
And thank you for your service.
We had Clinton who dodged the draft in England; and almost Kerry who is stuck-at-the-hip with Hanoi Jane Fonda. I don't see a stong presence of military service from Congress either.
The Corps I was in we just didn't leave our people behind......or lie about what happened.
I am not avocating war, just truth.
There seems to be a common denominator among all the Obama deciples and Romney deciples in newsvine who follow the Presidency like lemmings. It seems they fail to understand that the President is simply an instrumentality used by their handlers. It really makes little difference who the President actually is. Many seem to think the President runs things. He does not. The President rules by the consent of the real people in power. And, there are many. They can be found on Wall Street, in the Skulls n`Bones, and many areas throughout Washington D.C.. It's as though people think their candidate of choice is the great Messiah. The people who really run things cannot be called "Shadow Warrirors", because that term has already been given to CIA Operatives. It's more like they are a 'shadow foundation' within our country who not only rule our economy but also dictate our foreign policies and sadly enough use our military and our troops like pawns in a complex chess game. I will be glad when this election is over as I've been glad the past nine Presidential elections i've voted in are over. It's all a distraction from our senses. Like religion, it makes us say and do stupid things.
If it wasn't for a Democratic President, we would all be speaking Japanese and German today...
Good Cop, Bad Cop.
Hawk and Dove.
They take turns.
While I'm completely in agreement that people ascribe way too much power (and blame) to the President, I have no less derision for people who think the government is controlled by corporations or financiers. Either assumption is just as simple-minded and delusional.
The truth is that there are so many competing, struggling interests in ANY area of policy that no one group can possibly enjoy unchecked power. And almost every typical "special interest" bogeyman has their counterweight. Governing 300 million people is always going to be a miracle of willpower, discipline, and organization.
There is a 'saying' on the Hill that all 435 Congressmen and all 100 Senators have heard of and it brings a smile, because, it's the one saying they can all agree on that is true. That saying is, "All we have to do is keep 85% of the peasants out there bullshi!!ed, and we can have our party any way we want it." Most people in this country think they know what's going on. In reality, about 90% are clueless. And, most of that 90% actually think we have a true Democracy. When all we have is a 'system' that is founded on Democratic idealisms. We've fine-tuned it to where we are now. Presidents are like Kelley Girls. They are temporary hired help and they come and go.
Libya's muslim parties will not rest until they do what they have done to Egypt and Lebanon. They will take over the country and step on "democratic elections" if the results do not fit their agenda. Watch another country go sharia.
I agree. And, watch Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan go Sharia as well. Yet, there will be those among us who will still think we've accomplished something when we've actually accomplished nothing.
And "going Sharia" (a term almost meaningless in its vagueness) is somehow worse than a cruel, authoritarian regime?
remember what the protesting chanters in egypt said..
"obama, obama, we all osama's"..
oblamo takes the credit for bin laden..
but is shifting the blame at benghazi to the pentagon..
what a coward and a liar..