Obama: Hillary’s Libya plan ‘didn’t work’ and now the country is ‘a mess’

Special to WorldTribune.com

Libya is “a mess” and the plan pushed by Hillary Clinton that ended in the overthrow and death of long-time dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi “didn’t work,” President Barack Obama said.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. /Reuters
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. /Reuters

Sources have said that Obama leaned against intervention but was ultimately persuaded by then-secretary of state Clinton.

“We got a UN mandate, we built a coalition, it cost us $1 billion – which, when it comes to military operations, is very cheap,” said Obama, speaking with the The Atlantic magazine in a piece published on March 10.

“We averted large-scale civilian casualties, we prevented what almost surely would have been a prolonged and bloody civil conflict.”

“And despite all that, Libya is a mess,” he said.

The 2011 military intervention in Libya ultimately “didn’t work” the president said.

Obama also blamed lack of support from European and Gulf allies for the failure of the mission.

“When I go back and I ask myself what went wrong, there’s room for criticism, because I had more faith in the Europeans – given Libya’s proximity – being invested in the follow-up,” Obama said.

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