Let’s remember who had to drag Obama kicking and screaming to enforce a no-fly zone to keep up the momentum of the Arab Spring uprisings:
.As the United States and allies began their airstrike against Libya over the weekend, several news outlets reported on the growing tension between Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was allegedly annoyed that the president had been taking so long to commit to a plan in Libya. “Obviously, she’s not happy with dealing with a president who can’t decide if today is Tuesday or Wednesday, who can’t make his mind up,” a friend of madame secretary told The Daily’s Josh Hersh, whose delicious March 17 piece on Clinton’s frustrations is a must-read. The source continued, “And she doesn’t have any power. She’s trying to do what she can to keep things from imploding.”Clinton’s allies in her push toward action in Libya were, among others, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and security adviser Samantha Power.According to this morning’s Playbook, “the front page of today’s Times of London, [contains] the tease, ‘The three women who persuaded the President to take action,’” accompanied by photos of Clinton, Rice, and Power.
According to Josh Hersh’s account of the tension between Obama and Hillary, Obama wasn’t above sarcastic remarks that smack of the same kind of s^%* you hear from a typical male who pisses you off:
Obama himself made light of her strong feelings for supporting the opposition in a speech last week at the Gridiron Club Dinner, an annual gathering that traditionally features a stand-up comedy act by the president.
“I’ve dispatched Hillary to the Middle East to talk about how these countries can transition to new leaders — though, I’ve got to be honest, she’s gotten a little passionate about the subject,” Obama said to laughter from the audience.
“These past few weeks it’s been tough falling asleep with Hillary out there on Pennsylvania Avenue shouting, throwing rocks at the window.”
Who knows if the rest of that article is true but the GridIron Club presumably records these events so we can probably assume that he really did say that.
I’m guessing it went something like this:
Let’s hear it for the girls.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Hillary Clinton, Libya, no-fly zone, Obama, Qaddafi, Samantha Power, Susan Rice |
The Confluence 
Gawd, everything you ever wanted to know about politics, religion and group dynamics can be found in Life of Brian. What a classic. It’s almost like they were clairvoyant.
Don’t forget Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
That’s so four years ago.
RD,
Having Hillary in as SOS gives me great relief. Just imagine, if you dare, to think that the amateur O was actually running foreign policy.
I shutter….
Hillary has taken charge from day 1.
I never thought of her working for Him meant she sold out.
She was doing it for all of us. For the world. I love her as SOS.
She cleverly said she’s gone after the elections, which means she doesn’t need to say a word during this whole upcoming balonyfest, otherwise knows as Election 2012.
She does have to support his policy, but I believe she often directs and/or tempers it. I agree that she took the job to make a difference for the better — and she has.
She is only doing it for one term. Yet another reason not to support Obama for a second term. Without her helping to steer the ship…
djmm
The whole middle east is topsy turvy right now but for some weird reason, it seems to be working out. First Tunisia, then Egypt, Yemen and Libya. Now Syria. And Israel is starting to play nice with its neighbors and thinking about respecting borders.
This is what I mean when I say that we need something unpredictable to happen. Yes, it’s a fricking mess but it’s the kind of transformation that is centuries overdue.
And there are three American women in the thick of it who persevered when the whole nation thought they had gone off their meds. Now Qaddafi is about to be toppled after 42 years. That’s half a dozen presidents ago. That’s what happens when you keep the momentum going and stick with it. Awesome.
Grrrrllls rule.
Sometimes, you just have to stop being cynical and watch what’s going on. We are witnesses to an Arab revolution and Islamic reformation. Enforcing the no-fly zone was absolutely the right thing to do.
Now, the Christians are going to start packing their bags for the Rapture because one if the signs of the end that they’re looking for is that Israel will be surrounded by enemies. But I think if everyone gets on the same page, and keep a cool head, the outcome could be very beneficial to all parties. It’s too bad the global economy sucks. Prosperity would keep the religious crazies subdued.
[…] the birthplace of the term PUMA. From Riverdaughter Before Obama takes credit for the end of Qaddafi’s reign in Libya… Posted on August 20, 2011 by riverdaughter Let’s remember who had to drag Obama kicking and […]
Rd, It doesn’t matter, Hillary won’t get any credit and the Nobel Prize winner will.
I’m sure the reason why the abused Libyan woman is in the US and the American “hikers” got eight years, instead of life, is due to the efforts of SOS.
Apt initials, huh?
I can’t wait to see what HDRC does with her Global Iniative, god and godess bless her and everyone.
I guess it’s the same tactics now being used re Syria. International media outlets announced all through Thursday that “US President Obama calls for President Assad to step down” … followed by a picture, footage or a statement by … you guessed it, Hillary Clinton making that demand. Of course referring to her President, but it still allows him to play hide and/or seek, whichever benefits him the most.
And his comments at the Gridiron Club Dinner? 🙄
In typical Obama “folksy” manner – I hate it when he refers to her as Hillary instead of SOS Clinton. Hillary is what we get to call her – not that loser.
Also hated how the end of the article says all she really wants is to be a grandmother. She may want that, but I am certain that HRC’s future holds much more in store than that.
I take that to mean she isn’t going to lift a finger to help any Dems after she’s done with the SoS gig. Rightly so after what the party did to both Clintons. Shes earned the right to take it easy.
I agree and I wan’t them both to be around for a long, long time.
Just a stray thought about one of the many differences between SOS Clinton and the POTUS:
I seem to recall both Power and Rice were quite vicious about Hillary Clinton during the the primary. The term “monster” comes to mind. None of that is apparent in the alliance this post highlights.
Quite a contrast to 0’s petty paybacks from 2008 to now.
Yes, that thought had crossed my mind. How much you wanna bet they were working for her right about now?
[…] As Hillary’s Libya policy (as we wrote) bears fruit today and tomorrow (read the excellent “before Obama takes credit” Hillary coverage at The Confluence and Uppity’s site as well) all Americans must remember who went to Rio and Martha’s […]
Just so it can be said by one more person, there hasn’t been a day since Obama was elected that I haven’t wanted Hillary as our president. I’ve now gone from sour bitter dried up old lady to very wise prescient woman.
But the Dems have still been overtaken by aliens and thugs who have destroyed the party. I’m happy to be a proud Independent!!
Please, there is absolutely nothing to crow about here. There was never any threat of mass civilian casualites, as a simple review of Gaddafi’s alleged threat to Bengazi makes clear. What he said was that armed rebels would face reprisals, not civilians.And, at that, he said the armed rebels were free to leave the country, and should do before he retook Bengazi. More civilians were undoubtedly killed by the combined actions of the NATO bombardments and the rebel offensives than would have been if Gaddafi had simply been allowed to put down the rebellion, which he was well on his way to doing before NATO intervened.
At the next level, that of the so called Arab spring, and popular self determination and so on, there is a not a scintilla of evidence that the rebels represent what more Libyans want than Gaddafi’s regime. Nor is there any reason to think that they will do a better job of governing Libya than Gaddafi has done. Very, very little is even known about the rebel high command, but it is clear that it includes Islamic extremists. It also clear that it includes anti Black African racists. There is also a lot of evidence that what you have here is a regional/tribal power struggle, and very, very little evidence that any sort of liberal democracy is in the offing, now that the rebels have won.
“Arab spring” is romanticism. What we saw in Egypt was the military using a popular uprising to get rid of a nepotist ruling family. And, in any event, every country is different. The protestors in Egpt were peaceful, not the ones in Libya. The protestors in Egypt intentionally and specifically eshewed violence and foreign intervention, not the ones in Libya. The protestors in Egypt clearly represented an entire country that wanted regime change, not the ones in Libya. They launched a civil war and cried out for foreign intervention. Nothing good can come of that.
Moving up the ladder, what we see here is classic big power, Western imperialism. The UK, France and the US decided to remove a nationalist, Arab regime that has always been a thorn in their sides. This gives them a chance to impose a client regime, which is beholden to the West for its very existence, on Libya. Another Maliki or Karzai. It also gives them a chance to undo Libya’s oil contracts with China, and carve up the resources wholesale between themselves. In addition, they will assuredly demand that the rebels privatize the extensive public infastructure that the Gaddafi regime built up (schools, medical care, housing, etc), to provide even more opportunities for exploitation by Western corporations.
Hillary (and Powers and Slaughter) pushed the policy, but it was Obama’s choice in the end. Rather than stealing her credit, he would do better to distance himself from it.
I find it amazing that people who call themselves liberals would be rejoicing over yet another US military intervention in the Third World, yet another removal of a nationalist leader, yet another installation of a comprador, client regime. Yet another demonstration that Western might makes right.
are we even sure who these rebels are?
just for a laugh.
I’m very happy for the Libyan people getting rid of their monster/lethal nutcase. I’ve supported our action in Libya and was not surprised to learn that it was Clinton, Rice and Power who convinced the faux Nobel Prize winner and do nothing faux POTUS to take the action we did in Libya along with France and England.
And, of course it did not surprise me at all when this happened: http://tinyurl.com/4s69sf2
And, I’ve been waiting all day to read or view something in the news that even mentioned Clinton, Rice and Power in connection with having anything to do with the success in Libya. But, not so for the Dear Leader. Again, not surprised about how he has thus far gotten all the credit for our involvement in Libya.
And, then I came across this display from TP http://tinyurl.com/3uzyqtz and was really pissed. It’s a pic of what is called “Fantastic Four”. And, guess who is missing? SOS Clinton. To be fair, Power isn ‘t getting credit either but she’s much less well known and it seems understandable that whoever created that signage (and made a big deal over at TP) overlooked her. But, Clinton? Clinton is once again being erased from history as she was photo shopped out of that iconic pic in the Situation Room when they caught and killed Osama.
That seems to me a deliberate omission because if the person who made that signage was cognizant of Rices’ involvement how could they not know of Clinton’s? And, even if the people who made that signage weren’t cognizant of Clinton’s involvement in their liberation, TP is aware of her (and Powers) involvement and yet no mention at all of Clinton (or Powers) by those over at TP who wrote that article about the Libyan people’s signage. http://tinyurl.com/3uzyqtz
And, I didn’t see any “fauxgressive” commenters mention Clinton’s omission either which also doesn’t surprise me but, of course, praise for Dear Leader is neaseatingly effusive.
I am so happy Clinton will be leaving after her term is over. I had mixed feelings when she accepted the job but I understood why she did. And, I’m glad she did because I always felt safer with her there than not. But, it’s time for her to leave. This administration is TOXIC and my disgust with the Great Leader and his followers is at an apex.