Republicans have criticized Hillary Clinton because of the embassy event in Benghazi. They cannot criticize her for her role in the Libyan War itself because they supported that war. That war led to the disintegration of Libya’s order, the rise of militias and eventually to the attack on the American embassy. Without that war, in which she played such a large role, the embassy attack would likely have not occurred. Anti-war libertarians, and I do not see how libertarians can be anything other than anti-war, can criticize her for supporting that war and being a key figure in sustaining it. Republicans can’t. Therefore, Hillary in her new book is able to accuse them of politicizing an event that brought American deaths.

There is a Washington Post article that credits Hillary’s role strongly. At the end of it, she takes full credit for the war. She says “we set into motion a policy that was on the right side of history, on the right side of our values, on the right side of our strategic interests in the region.” She exulted when Gaddafi was slaughtered. She was all smiles and clapped her hands, applauding her own joke: “We came. We saw. He died.” Hillary applauds Gaddafi’s death.

Hillary says she felt punched in the gut over the ambassador’s death. What did she feel about the deaths of innocents produced in the bombing campaign in Libya? There was a minimum of 72 civilian deaths, including many women and children. Another estimate says 1,108 civilians died and 4,500 were injured.

The Republicans cannot criticize Clinton’s role in post-war violence among militias. Libertarians can because our position is consistent. Republicans cannot criticize Hillary Clinton for her responsibility for the aftermath of the Libyan War on Libya and Libyans, but libertarians can. By the wikipedia account, which is accurate and well-known, “The aftermath of the Libyan civil war has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Libya after the overthrow and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in the Libyan civil war. Weapons proliferation, Islamic insurgency, sectarian violence, and lawlessness have been problems and the spillover has affected neighboring countries including Mali.” The overthrow of Gaddafi has had far-reaching effects.

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