With the bombing of air craft defense systems in Libya, Obama has put the country in yet another foreign conflict. In what was a shocking move, Obama declared that the United States would be taking action towards the dictator of Libya, after Qaddafi in a video from Huffington Post on March 17 is shown to make a threat to “show no mercy” towards the rebels who are fighting against him.

Obama’s term not going as planned

Yet, at the beginning of his term, Obama seemed to make it clear that getting involved in another war in the Middle East was not on the agenda. In fact, he instead made it a priority to get out of conflicts the U.S. was already engaged in.

This did not occur. Instead, not only are forces still in Afghanistan and Iraq, but Obama sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, with an adjusted pullout date set for 2014. Obviously, things are not going as planned.

If any more proof of this is needed, just look at his optimistic goals of passing a universal health care bill during his first term, or closing that oh-so-problematic Guantanamo bay detention center. Obama is optimistic, or perhaps just naïve about the time frame needed to get his over-ambitious dreams accomplished.

Obama takes action against Qaddafi

To be fair to our president however, this act of bombing Libya was not an act without preparation or warning. On March 1, the New York Times reported that Obama froze all assets Qaddafi had in U.S. banks to effectively try to cut off his funding for the war. This was all to no avail, as Qaddafi has billions of dollars stockpiled in his own country. Next, on March 18 Obama issued an official warning to Qaddafi ordering an immediate cease-fire. Once again, after initial reports that the fighting would stop, reports started coming in from the rebels that bombs were still, in fact, falling.

At this point, Obama had a choice. He either could make good on his statement that action would be taken, or he could stand by.

Remember, Qaddafi is the man whom Ronald Reagan once called in 1986, the “mad dog of the Middle East” according to Fox News. As a result, Qaddafi set a price on the head of Michael Reagan, Ronald Reagan’s son. This is Saddam, this is Stalin, and this is any man who declares that he will ignore the rights of his own people in order to keep power.

And while there are people upset with the way Obama is handling the situation, there are reasons to be optimistic. Obama took action based on a purely humanitarian cause, protecting the citizens of Libya and their opinions.

America’s leadership role

This is what America stands for, the right to express one’s opinion without having to fear being persecuted. We have to be careful to agree totally with Obama’s decision, but, at its core, it’s a choice motivated by compassion for a people that is suffering.

For someone to stand by while atrocities are happening without doing anything is very near to siding with the enemy. The Libyan conflict may not directly threaten the U.S., and it may not directly affect us, but it is affecting other human beings. This is the key –– protecting those whose voices have been drowned out by the sounds of bullets whizzing by their heads and bombs exploding in their backyards.

For now, it looks like America’s role in leading the charge is over, and while the criticism may start falling as the repercussions mount, Obama should rest easy. There are always those that can analyze the problems of action, but only God knows how events would have turned out had action not taken place. Obama has made a bold, but correct decision.