For Bachmann to choose this moment to say that the loony of Libya poses no threat is to disqualify herself from any consideration for high office. She evidently knows nothing about the four decades of dictatorship and depredation that have led up to this. ~Christopher Hitchens

The issue here is that Hitchens has already decided that Bachmann is unfit for high office for various other (dim-witted) reasons, and then pretends that her position on Libya is utterly beyond the pale. Until the U.S. and allied forces started attacking Libya, it was perfectly reasonable to say that Gaddafi posed no threat to the United States or Europe, and it was quite correct to say that the U.S. in particular had no national security interest in the outcome of the Libyan civil war. The Libyan war is not being fought for allied security, much less U.S. security, and this has been obvious from the first day. The Libyan war turned Gaddafi back into a threat to the U.S. and Europe after he had ceased to be one.

The threat to Tunisia and Egypt that supposedly concerns Hitchens so much hasn’t gone anywhere. By prolonging the war, the intervention will in all likelihood increase the pressure on Libya’s neighbors from the influx of huge numbers of refugees that the fighting has displaced. The conflict in Libya is weakening an already shaky Tunisian economy, which enjoyed significant tourism from and trade with Libya, in addition to the remittances received from Tunisian migrants workers in Libya. Tunisia probably had the best chance of the three North African states that have experienced upheaval this year to transition to something resembling more representative government, but as long as its trade with Libya is curtailed because of the war its chances for renewed growth are undermined. That in turn will make its political transition that much more difficult. According to this preliminary paper, the Tunisian economy will lose 0.4% of GDP growth in the coming year because of the conflict in Libya. Continuing the war isn’t doing Tunisia any favors, and whatever may follow Gaddafi once he and his allies are out of power could have additional adverse effects on Tunisia’s political development.