Chris Matthews writes: What's the Real Mission In Libya?



I hope we have a plan here we're not talking about, because what we're seeing makes no sense. We say we want to overthrow Gaddafi again but give him no place to escape. If that's the nature of this contest, he will fight to the death --- as most people would -- and that will mean the deaths of countless people who would survive if we had a quicker, smarter plan that promised a quicker, smarter ending to this thing.

Chris Matthews writes: What's the Real Mission In Libya?

What's the Real Mission In Libya?

What is the real mission in Libya? Not the no-fly zone-- that's a method. So what is the mission? How do we end this thing?

The president said in Santiago yesterday that the military mission isn't aimed at getting rid of Gaddafi. He said we have other means to do that-sanctions and money freezes and that stuff.

Well, excuse me for being skeptical, Mr. President, but we've done all that before and regimes have survived it for years-many years. I remember how many years we had white-ruled Rhodesia under sanctions. When I was over there in the Peace Corps, I went to that country, it meant watching old movies instead of ones currently available in other countries. No, it really didn't really work all that fast.

Americans don't like long wars. Are we going to be backing this military campaign in Libya for months or even years-with the French and the Brits and a token Arab force flying overhead while Gaddafi kills his people in alleys and basements below? Are we going to wait for --excuse me -- sanctions to work their will?

It doesn't ring true. We went in there to stop a killer from massacring his people. If he's set on doing it, he's got plenty of time now to find ways of doing it -- if all we're doing is running sanctions against him.

So, we need to know more. Perhaps there's a secret plan out there to overthrow Gaddafi. Are we offering him safe-conduct to Venezuela? Are we giving him a means to end this standoff?

Because if we're not doing any of this, it promises to be a long war, a standoff, where Gaddafi sacrifices more and more of his people to prolong his own rule, which he needs to prolong if he's going to prolong his own life.

I hope we have a plan here we're not talking about, because what we're seeing makes no sense. We say we want to overthrow Gaddafi again but give him no place to escape. If that's the nature of this contest, he will fight to the death --- as most people would -- and that will mean the deaths of countless people who would survive if we had a quicker, smarter plan that promised a quicker, smarter ending to this thing.

I don't like the looks of this campaign for the simple reason it looks like so many others. In an effort to reduce our footprint, we're making it a far longer, more bloody journey to where we're headed in the end.

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Headlines: March, 2011; RPCV Chris Matthews (Swaziland); Peace Corps Libya; Directory of Libya RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Libya RPCVs; Figures; Peace Corps Swaziland; Directory of Swaziland RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Swaziland RPCVs; Journalism; Television

When this story was posted in April 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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Peace Corps: The Next Fifty Years As we move into the Peace Corps' second fifty years, what single improvement would most benefit the mission of the Peace Corps? Read our op-ed about the creation of a private charitable non-profit corporation, independent of the US government, whose focus would be to provide support and funding for third goal activities. Returned Volunteers need President Obama to support the enabling legislation, already written and vetted, to create the Peace Corps Foundation. RPCVs will do the rest.

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March 1, 2011: The First PCVs Bob Klein writes: First PCVs Arrive in Ghana 22 Feb Hugh Pickens says PC to Win Nobel Peace Prize 22 Feb Patricia McKissick sees history unfolding in Cairo 12 Feb Bruce Rosen Leads Lawsuit Against Iran 10 Feb Claudia Jayne teaches Sewing in Fiji 9 Feb Michael Snarskis Discovered Ancient Civilizations 4 Feb John Freivalds writes: Egypt compared to Iran in 1970's 2 Feb Ted Poe to investigate PCV Sexual Assault Victims 31 Jan Peter DiCampo takes Flashlight Portraits of Ghana 25 Jan Lyn Wright Fogle says Learning new Language Transforms Us 25 Jan Shanti A. Parikh Examines Structures of Gender Inequality 21 Jan Ann Sheehan writes: Hearing Sarge sent me to Africa 20 Jan Laurence Leamer writes: I remember Sarge as he was 19 Jan Jim Fedako writes: What stands in way of rebuilding Haiti? 17 Jan Peace Corps Evacuates PCVs from Niger 17 Jan Sean Smith quits Hollywood for Peace Corps 17 Jan Peace Corps Malaysia Prgoram to be Re-instated 15 Jan Brian Buckley co-owns Innisfree Poetry Bookstore 13 Jan Rob Prince writes: Tunisia explodes 13 Jan Pancho Lane writes about Colombia 1 12 Jan Erik Thompson brings Micronesians to Minnesota 24 Nov Alan Guskin helped lay foundation for Peace Corps 4 Nov

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How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge."

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PCV Murder Investigated ABC News has investigated the murder of Benin PCV Kate Puzey. Read our original coverage of the crime, comments on Peace Corps actions, the email Puzey sent her country director about sexual incidents with Puzey's students and with another PCV, the backstory on how RPCVs helped the Puzey family, and Peace Corps' official statement. PCOL Editorial: One major shortcoming that the Puzey murder highlights is that Peace Corps does not have a good procedure in place for death notifications.

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Jan 9, 2011: Push for the Peace Corps Rajeev Goyal Pushes for the Peace Corps 20 Dec Denis Dutton founded Arts & Letters Daily 2 Jan Jim Carter promotes organ exchange 29 Dec Bob Hollinger embraced the Toyama-ryu style of karate 27 Dec Anthony Siracusa is Riding a bike around world 27 Dec Marianne Combs writes: Another Upheaval in Ivory Coast 25 Dec Kathy Rousso documents weaving methods in Guatemala 24 Dec Ramsey Nix writes: Christmas in Mongolia 23 Dec Leanne Moore writes: Coming Back to America 23 Dec Cancer Victim Linda Lahme dreams of Africa 23 Dec The RPCV Who Changed American Parenting 22 Dec Dick Holbrooke at the Peace Corps 22 Dec Mahlon Barash publishes "Imágenes del Perú" 20 Dec Susan Luz writes "The Nightingale of Mosul" 18 Dec RPCV arrested in alleged Sandinista 'Land Grab' 17 Dec Peter DiCampo captures village life in Ghana 16 Dec John Coyne writes: Peace Corps Prose 16 Dec Kathleen Stephens presses China to rein in North Korea 15 Dec Greg Parsley writes: PC taught me to bypass bureaucrats 14 Dec Pat Waak writes: Peace Corps Pays Off 8 Dec David Matthews wins NATO medal for work in Afghanistan 7 Dec Ralph Bolton wins award in Anthropology 9 Nov

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Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams

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Join Us Mr. President! "We will double the size of the Peace Corps by its 50th anniversary in 2011. And we'll reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity," said Barack Obama during his campaign. Returned Volunteers rally and and march to the White House to support a bold new Peace Corps for a new age. Latest: Senator Dodd introduces Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 .

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