As regular readers of this blog are aware, we've taken particular note of Florida freshman U.S. Senator Marco Rubio's stance on the U.S. actions in Libya, which is not an especially popular war, and will probably become less popular as time goes by.
Wednesday marks the 19th day that the U.S. has been part of an allied campaign led by NATO which is now being criticized by rebel leaders as being ineffective, and Rubio now wants the U.S. to“derecognize” the Qaddafi regime and set up a provisional embassy in Benghazi to begin “assisting the opposition’s needs and to negotiate the terms of formal recognition.”
Although there is still much we don't know about the rebels, Rubio is ready to welcome the leaders of the movement as the next government officials in Libya, telling National Review, that he wants to help recognize what is known as the "transitional council" as Libya's new leaders
“The last step in this equation is recognizing the transitional council itself as a legitimate government in Libya,” he continues. “It is important to do that in a way that doesn’t threaten some of the other players in the area. In order to be able to ultimately have an election and a governable nation, you want that council to be a little broader than it is right now, to include other players from Libyan society and the Libyan government. Part of our role, in setting up a provisional embassy in Benghazi, would be to help the council reach out to these other players and create a broader coalition that we could then recognize.”
The U.S.' involvement in Libya continue to be criticized by many politicians, most (but not all) on the political right, though at times it appears as being extremely petty. Tuesday morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani bashed President Obama for allowing 10 days to pass before intervening, neglecting to note that to do so would have been before both the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League both voted to support a no-fly zone.
Wherever you stand on the U.S.' involvement in this third Muslim nation, Senator Rubio has become one of the leading cheerleaders for it, stressing the humanitarian aspect and the desire for the civilized world to rid the country of its leader, Muammar Qaddafi.
