We Dare Not Go After This Monster

The same hawks who drummed America into a "cakewalk" war in Iraq now want to march right in and liberate Libya, even though, in the case of Paul Wolfowitz, one "would think" he'd "have the good manners to shut up and take up horticulture," writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. But it's not just Wolfie, she says—joining him on the "Cakewalk Brigade" are John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and John Kerry. And, of course, these things are never cakewalks.

The much-vaunted no-fly zone seems innocuous enough, but as Robert Gates puts it, it's still an act of war: "A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses." Further, any of his successors who would lead an invasion in Asia, the Mideast, or Africa, "should have his head examined." So while Wolfowitz chides President Obama to do what's "morally right," that line of thinking damns America "to endless wars of altruism," one expert tells Dowd. Gadhafi may be a monster, but the expert quotes no less than John Quincy Adams: America "goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy." (More Maureen Dowd stories.)