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Notes -
Can you? That was the Libyan operation in a nutshell. Qaddafi was this comic-book villain - Susan Rice announced that he was giving his troops viagra so they could rape more effectively: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/29/diplomat-gaddafi-troops-viagra-mass-rape
It would be so easy to topple him and save the civilians from being massacred and raped! We, the West, started an air campaign that monstered the Libyan Army. Qaddafi ended up with a bayonet in his ass. Then the country collapsed into a second civil war. Arms from now-unguarded Libyan army caches found their way to Syria. Russia and China were incensed that their acquiescence of UNSC 1973 developed a no-fly zone into a bombing campaign. Russia especially was very angry that the energy deal they'd negotiated with Qaddafi ended up going to French companies and decided they wouldn't accept the same thing happening in Syria. All this happened after Qaddafi denuclearized in 2003, sending a very clear signal to Iran and North Korea.
Seemingly simple actions have all kinds of complex, dangerous outcomes. We blew up Qaddafi, Libya is now split in two, Europe was destabilized by the refugee flow and international law took a major blow.
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