LKL wrote:
While Obama's aid to Libya during their uprising can be strongly argued as unconstitutional due to his lack of congressional approval, on the whole it seems to have given us a very strong ally in the region. I felt terrible after the ambassador was killed, thinking that maybe the region as a whole was just to backwards for democracy and diplomacy, but the next day there was a picture in the paper of a woman holding a sign saying, 'Thugs and killers do not represent Benghazi nor Islam,' and in general the people of Benghazi in specific and Libya in general seem not only to agree with that sentiment but have been backing it up with actions. The people of Libya seem to want a peaceful, modern state, and good for them.
It still is unconstitutional, no where in the constitution does it authorize foreign aid of any sort.
I'm not sure what you mean by a powerful ally, the Libyan government basically has no authority outside of Tripoli. There may be some desire amongst their a portion of the populace to rid themselves of extremists but it's present there for a reason.
Potentially powerful, I should have said. In possession of large reserves of 'light sweet' petroleum. Well-educated by the standards of the region. Influential with the neighbors.