When Britain and France launched pre-emptive military strikes last year that would eventually depose Libyan leader Muramar Qaddafi and his regime, one of President Barack Obama’s most senior advisors described U.S. involvement as “leading from behind,” a most unfortunate descriptor that haunted the administration much as George W. Bush’s “mission accomplished” label early in the 2003 Iraq war repeatedly hounded him. Then, this January, in announcing a new defense strategy, the White House made another blunder. This strategy was proclaimed as “a strategic pivot to Asia.”
Almost immediately, the administration reversed gears. No one easily accepts responsibility for a major gaffe and “rebalancing” became the palliative excuse. Yet, the damage was done. And the real reason for the pivot, namely an “emerging” China—another offensive reference— was as unmentioned by the White House much as a bizarre relative is hidden in the attic so as not to frighten the kiddies.
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