The Libya “endgame” is murky, because U.S. policy since the Libyan uprising has been murky. The Obama administration has sent multiple mixed messages about whether to engage at all, how to engage, whether to target Qaddafi or not, and even who should be in charge of the effort. President Obama failed to consult Congress prior to its implementation.

This article is being written in advance of his March 28 speech to the nation, which may – or may not – clarify Obama’s policy and intent, which began as a case study in strategic incoherence. Clearly, it was not a model to carry out the removal of a delusional, unbalanced terrorist dictator, complicit in the murder of hundreds of Americans.

Qaddafi must be removed from power, preferably by being captured and sent to the World Court for Crimes Against Humanity or – failing that – eliminated. The U.S. must lead this effort, aided by a coalition of the willing, not handing off responsibility to other nations.

Neither a divided NATO, nor the Arab League, nor such “partners” as the Qatar or United Arab Emirates Air Forces can do the job. Our President seems unwilling to use American power without hiding behind his fiction of multilateralism; he seems more than willing to avoid leadership in efforts that will guarantee removing Qaddafi.

The result could be the worst possible outcome: Qaddafi still in power, the U.S. embarrassed by failure, Qaddafi planning revenge. 

Serious and valid questions are being raised about what leader or groups might replace Qaddafi, but the status quo is worse.

The decision to engage has been made; there can be no equivocating or opting out at this point. The world is watching, as always, to measure the competence of the Commander-in-Chief of the United States. Thus far, the picture has not been one of reassurance. 

Somewhere, Thomas Jefferson must be smiling: 208 years later, the U.S. is returning to “the Shores of Tripoli.”

Irl Solomon is a retired East St. Louis public schools teacher and a docent for the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center