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Bachmann: Obama Doctrine Not In U.S. Strategic Interest

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) discusses the military action in Libya with Matt Lauer on "The Today Show."

Lauer: I want to take you back to March 17. It was a Thursday. It was the day that Muammar Gaddafi told the people of Libya and Benghazi that his troops were on the way, they would show no mercy, and they would find them in their closets. If you had been president of the United States on that day, what would you have done specifically?

Bachmann: Well, I don't think that at that point that we had seen the threat to the United States either from Gaddafi or have we seen a vital American national interest at risk. That really needs to be our first line of defense because unfortunately there are atrocities that do happen in different countries in the world. We just saw this weekend slaughter in Syria, so based upon that criteria of humanitarian intervention, which apparently is the new Obama Doctrine, that would be the basis for the United States to enter into one country after another. I don't think that's in the American interest for us to enter into one country after another.

Lauer: So, going back to my question though, had you been president on that day, March 17, what would you have done? Would you have done nothing?

Bachmann: I would not have gone in.

Lauer: So, would you have called the other leaders of NATO countries and said, 'We support you, but we're not coming'?

Bachmann: Well, I think that what presidents do is they stay involved, and they try to get the very best intelligence that they can because I think one thing that the American people need to know is that we did not know -- nor did the intelligence community know -- who the opposition is. If we're going in -- because remember there was just testimony yesterday that there are 'flickers of Al Qaeda.' We don't how much Al Qaeda is involved in the opposition forces. Why would we want to strengthen Al Qaeda's hand in North Africa? That certainly wouldn’t be in the interests of the United States.

Lauer: Well, let me flip that coin on its other side. If there are flickers, as you say, of Al Qaeda among the rebels, would it not be a sign to them or showing them that the United States has compassion, and we’re willing to use our military might to help all people?

Bachmann: Compassion for Al Qaeda?

Lauer: No, compassion for civilians in Benghazi.

Bachmann: Of course we have compassion for people. That is not the point. There is no more compassionate nation in the world than the United States of America. We are the ones that offer the humanitarian aid. But in this instance, under the Obama Doctrine, the president of the United States is using the United States military for the purpose of humanitarian aid. This is a marked difference from the way that the United States military has been used before. The Obama Doctrine is very, very different from any interventions that we have done in the past.

Lauer: Alright, let me ask you one more question. And again, placing you in the White House. If you are the president of the United States, given what you know now, what's taking place on the ground in Libya, would you make a decision to arm the rebels?

Bachmann: I would not because, again, we do not know enough about who they are, and we also have not identified an American vital national interest. That must be done before the United States can intervene in another nation's affairs.

Posted on March 31, 2011

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