Stewart on Libya

After Monday's interview, I was really surprised to see how strongly Jon Stewart came out against the bombing of Libya tonight. I have absolutely no problem with people being critical of this military action. We should be critical of every military action. I just don't understand why everyone is coming out so strongly against the action in Libya when we're still not seeing a peep about Afghanistan or Iraq. Did you know we're still fighting wars there? I know! Can we take some of this anger and confusion about Libya (much of which is certainly justified) and direct it to where it matters a little more? Where the hell is the outrage over the two wars we've been fighting for the last decade? Where is the demand to know what our missions are there? The American death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan combined is currently 7,141. And these people are worried about the cost of an air campaign, in which there has yet to be a single American casualty? I realize it's a little hard to think of the well-being of people who are not American, but doesn't anyone care that we saved 50,000 people from being slaughtered by doing this? And you can be damn well sure Obama would be yelled at if he hadn't gone in.

And a final thought, for god's sake, stop comparing this to Iraq. This is a revolution from the ground up. The Libyan people want this. They are cheering and waving American flags in the streets. And most importantly of all, we are not telling the freedom fighters what to do. It's their revolution. All we're doing is evening the playing field for them because Gaddafi has motherfucking tanks. The rebels have gained a lot of ground because of this. Just imagine if Gaddafi was toppled. With Tunisia and Egypt on either side, can you imagine the democratic footprint that would leave in Northern Africa? Holy shit. We should be supporting this. We wouldn't have won our own revolution if France hadn't sent over troops to fight alongside us. Thomas Paine sailed over to France to help with their revolution soon after we won our own. I don't see how this is all that different. This is what real Jeffersonian liberalism looks like. It's unrealistic expectations and goals in the hopes of a better future. It's the worldwide revolution Jefferson and Paine hoped for. "The world is my country," right? Sic semper tyrannis?

Anyway, I'll stop talking now. Here's the interview Stewart did last night with a political science chairman who was born in Libya. It's really good. I'll post the anti-intervention segment he did tonight once it pops up online.