Gingrich assails Obama's handling of Libya policy

[March 23, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is questioning President Barack Obama's intervention in Libya, calling it a "badly run" operation without a clear goal.

The Georgia Republican tells NBC's "Today" show he believes Obama painted the United States into a corner with his decision to authorize air strikes to establish a no-fly zone and dismantle Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses. Gingrich says that Obama is relying on a standard of "humanitarian intervention," a policy he said would have justified American military engagement in countries like Sudan, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Yemen and Bahrain.

Gingrich, who is believed to be considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination, says the standard Obama applied to get involved in Libya could conceivably get the United States mired in military intervention "in all sorts of places."

[Associated Press]

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