Is Obama Preparing to Attack Libya: Weapons of Mass Destruction Chapter II

Obama on foreign policy has been laughable over the past two years. However, we are getting the point where we can't laugh too much anymore because the situation in the Middle East is growing more intense. With violence now breaking out in Libya, where menace Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has ruled for over 40 years, we now are hearing Gaddafi has been stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

The Wall Street Journal Reports today:

The government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi hasn’t destroyed significant stockpiles of mustard gas and other chemical-weapons agents, raising fears in Washington about what could happen to them—and whether they may be used—as Libya slides further into chaos.

Tripoli also maintains control of aging Scud B missiles, U.S. officials said, as well as 1,000 metric tons of uranium yellowcake and vast amounts of conventional weapons that Col. Gadhafi has channeled in the past to militants operating in countries like Sudan and Chad.

Current and former U.S. officials said in interviews that Washington’s counterproliferation operations against Libya over the past decade have scored gains, in particular the dismantling of Tripoli’s nascent nuclear-weapons program and its Scud C missile stockpiles. But the level of instability in Libya, and Col. Gadhafi’s history of brutality, continues to make the U.S. focus on the arms and chemical agents that remain, they said.

Yet, in Obama's speech yesterday, he never mentions the Libyan menace. However, he does use some interesting language that doesn't rule out military action in Libya.


Like all governments, the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain from violence, to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, and to respect the rights of its people. It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those responsibilities, and face the cost of continued violations of human rights.

This is not simply a concern of the United States. The entire world is watching, and we will coordinate our assistance and accountability measures with the international community. To that end, Secretary Clinton and I have asked Bill Burns, our Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, to make several stops in Europe and the region to intensify our consultations with allies and partners about the situation in Libya.

I guess the question is will this Wall Street Journal article be used to justify war in Libya, especially considering the vital importance of the free flow of oil.