My problem with toppling dictators.

"He's killing his own people". We hear that phrase every time the US sets our sights on a new dictatorial target. Last Sunday, the general on Meet The Press used a variance of the meme within the answer to nearly every question postured to him.

We remember well the often stated reason that was the fall back as we continued the invasion of Iraq and one by one the initial reasons for war were debunked. While various proponents for the war gave face time on the cable news to cry out for the helpless victims of Saddam Hussein, stock footage ran on the split screen of the ruthless dictator standing on a balcony firing a rifle into the air. At the time I was screaming at my TV; "Why doesn't someone shoot him!" "He's right there!"

As Saddam appeared before the throngs of citizens who were "powerless" to change their fate, the crowds would rip off a magazine from their AKs into the air. I was wondering at the time why no one chose to lower their aim a few degrees and end their slavery to a "mad man". The general assumption was they were afraid of the consequences from the dictator's death squads. It would be an absolute suicide mission.

As the war for freedom in Iraq progressed, we saw how "helpless" these Iraqis were as years of suicide bombings and ambushes plagued our "peacekeepers" on a daily basis, seemingly eager to die for the cause. Resistance from these helpless souls got to a point that we began stripping citizens of the automatic weapons that were family staples in nearly every home, leaving them to improvise with bootlegged explosives.

Now when I hear "he's killing his own people", I say "then do something about it". If the people truly have had enough of their oppressive murderous leader, they should give him the full Mussolini and leave us out of it.

Vague aspirations of replacing them with "democracy, whiskey and sexy" don't really constitute a bullet-proof argument.

I suspect that Quadaffi actually has some of the population on his side, but people don't want to talk about that.

I find it hard to believe that everyone in the country hates him, because his government would have fallen years ago or he would have been assassinated.

After Allied forces liberated most of Italy.

But in the case of Libya, there is hope that a little Allied help will allow the Libyan people to do the "full Ghaddafi."