"Did I do due diligence? Did I talk to everybody I could talk to? Did I visit every capital and then report back to the president? Yes, I did. That's what every secretary of state does," Clinton said. "But at the end of the day, those are the decisions that are made by the president to in any way use American military power, and the president made that decision."
Furthermore, rubbing salt into the wound, which President Obama recently admitted was the biggest mistake of his presidency, Clinton actually suggested that the intervention in Libya failed only "because of the Libyans' obstruction of our efforts."
In fact, she boasted, "I think we did a great deal to help the Libyan people after Gaddafi's demise," despite the fact that Libya, once one of the wealthiest and most developed states on the African continent, has split into several warring states, including Daesh (ISIL/ISIS), and become the very definition of a failed state.
Libya doesn't exist anymore lol. It's been split up by ISIS, other factions, and rival governments. https://t.co/gAqPCC3sGT
— Dr. Vapor™ (@tayy_sims) 15 апреля 2016 г.
LIBYA MAP: Shows how divided #Libya is. See our weekly report for more https://t.co/0UETDnO6YK pic.twitter.com/s33es7zuF0
— Risk Intelligence (@riskstaff) 17 апреля 2016 г.
Slammed by Sanders, who insisted that Clinton had "led the effort" for regime change in Libya, and added that "this is the same type of mentality that supported the war in Iraq," Clinton and her comments have since gone on to cause ire among analysts and commentators around the world.
#DemDebate
— Independent Droid (@Global_Drone) 15 апреля 2016 г.
This is How Cavalier She is about Ragime Change#Clinton ~ Gaddafi: We came, we saw, he died https://t.co/vmr2m8WKc4 via @YouTube
Most recently, this included Russian lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Russian State Duma, who suggested that Clinton's rhetoric, and her unbelievable unapologetic style, truly makes her a worthy successor to George W. Bush.
"Hillary Clinton said that the United States 'were forced to establish order in Libya.' It seems that she is saying this in all seriousness. She is really a worthy successor to George W. Bush," Pushkov noted in a tweet Saturday.
Х.Клинтон заявила, что США "были вынуждены навести в Ливии порядок". Похоже, она это говорит вполне серьезно. Достойная преемница Буша-мл.
— Алексей Пушков (@Alexey_Pushkov) 16 апреля 2016 г.
The high profile criticism echoes that of policy analysts and ordinary people alike, who suggested that Clinton's statements were an indication of the candidate's nonchalant attitude toward the suffering of millions of people in the Middle East.
Clinton says she did a lot to help the Libyan people after Gaddafi's demise. Like by turning Libya into an ISIS recruitment camp? #demdebate
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) 15 апреля 2016 г.
"WE DID A GREAT DEAL WITH THE LIBYAN PEOPLE AFTER GADDAFI'S DEMISE."
— ✭James Saint-Franc☭ (@sirjamesa12) 15 апреля 2016 г.
— Hillary Clinton
DOES THAT INCLUDE THE BUTCHERING OF BLACK LIBYANS!?
Bombshell Clinton email: #Libya Coup was Neocoloniasm & to prevent Gaddafi's Gold Dinar https://t.co/Jg7OazJYbX pic.twitter.com/1tCfRgWPy5
— Philosophile (@RealFKNNews) 17 апреля 2016 г.
