The Tragic End of Gadhafi Will Benefit Barack Obama's Campaign

Gadhafi’s death is without a doubt good news for the West, which has long been held up in an economic crisis. When the photos of a bloody Gadhafi were spread around the world, the NATO countries involved in the military operation in Libya were filled with a long awaited sense of pride. The British Daily Post wrote that without the air support of NATO, Gadhafi’s troops would have certainly crushed the Libyan rebellion.

Or take the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alain Juppé, who said on Oct. 21 that France had greatly contributed to the success of the NATO intervention. France had, indeed, taken the lead in proposing air strikes against Gadhafi’s forces and was the first country to recognize the National Transitional Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Finally, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a speech at the White House, saying that Gadhafi’s death marked the end of his tyrannical rule.

The high-profile intervention of Barack Obama on the death of Gadhafi strongly contrasted with his discretion regarding the military operations in Libya. Western countries are accustomed to the fact that the U.S. always takes a leading role in major affairs. But this time, the U.S. handed over command of Libyan operations to NATO on March 31, which allowed France and the United Kingdom to take control.

But now that the war is over, the U.S. returns to center stage. On Oct. 18, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an impromptu visit to Tripoli, bringing with the visit $40 million in aid. A few hours later, the world witnessed the photos of a bloody Gadhafi.

Now, after nearly seven months of air strikes in Libya, Barack Obama can declare to American voters that his administration has achieved a major victory at a low cost. This is called “Obamanism.” The U.S. did not need to get bogged down in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for which they paid a high price. This time, after launching a military operation, the United States withdrew from the front line. This method also allows the U.S. to gain voters, to sway their allies and to win international support.

But at home, neither those who had proposed sending ground forces to Libya nor those who had called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from coalition forces in Libya had initially approved the withdrawal of Barack Obama from the scene.

However, for President Obama it is undoubtedly a success. Libyan military operations cost no more than $2 billion and not a single American soldier was killed or even injured.

Obamanism also applies to the fight against terrorism. On May 2, U.S. special forces killed the head of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, in Pakistan. And on Sept. 30, an overseer of al-Qaida, Anwar al-Awlaki, and a number of his men were killed in an attack by an unmanned drone in Yemen. Both operations were carried out by air.

On Oct. 21, President Obama announced that the U.S. would withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of the year. And on June 22 he announced that the U.S. would withdraw 10,000 men from Afghanistan by the end of this year and 33,000 troops by the end of next summer.

Next year is an election year in the United States. Barack Obama hopes that Obamanism will bring him more points for his campaign. The death of Gadhafi may help stengthen the confidence of voters at a lower price and reinforce his image, that being that “he can make America safer.” On this point, Barack Obama has been very successful. But he still faces challenges in terms of economic recovery and job growth.

The author, Zhao Haijian, is a journalist with the Guangzhou Daily.