Is War in Libya Worth One American Soldier?

Written By: Thomas R. Eddlem  |  Posted: Friday, April 1st, 2011

            President Obama has made the "decision" to put American soldiers into harm's way in Libya without the required permission under the U.S. Constitution (or even consulting Congress). American enforcement of the "no-fly zone" will doubtless cost U.S. taxpayers more in defense spending, but the real risk and cost of American military intervention is the risk to the lives of American servicemen and women. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America on February 22 of Libyan intervention that his standard for deploying U.S. military forces was: "I won't vote to go to war unless I'd send my kids there or go myself."

            President Obama addressed the nation on March 18 to rationalize putting U.S. military pilots in harm's way in Libya. Do his arguments stack up? Obama's arguments should be judged on whether it's "worth it" for a mother to lose her only son toward attaining the stated goal. Sadly, it's not difficult to envision at some not-too-distant time Obama attending the funeral of one or more Air Force pilots and giving a tightly wrapped flag to the mother of a pilot who dies in the line of duty in Libya. Such a conversation between the grieving mother and President Obama could go something like this (all statements attributed to Obama are word-for-word from his March 18 address on Libya):

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