McCain, Lieberman, Graham and Gaddafi

Daily Kos:

John McCain has always wanted to bomb the shit out of Libya. Except for that time in 2009 when he and his BFFs, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, went to Tripoli to meet with Gaddafi and promised to help arm Libya.

Via Think Progress:

[E] xactly two years ago, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) were in Tripoli meeting with the erratic leader and giving him assurances that relations between the nations were on the mend. According to a leaked August 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks recounting the Senators’ junket, the neoconservative Connecticut Senator captured the dynamic of aligning with a brutal dictator:

Lieberman called Libya an important ally in the war on terrorism, noting that common enemies sometimes make better friends.

The cable contains some other interesting nuggets about the senators' trip to Tripoli:

"We never would have guessed ten years ago that we would be sitting in Tripoli, being welcomed by a son of Muammar al-Qadhafi," remarked Senator Lieberman. He stated that the situation demonstrated that change is possible and expressed appreciation that Libya had kept its promises to give up its WMD program and renounce terrorism.

Two years ago, Libya was a model of reform, renouncing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. But suddenly, this year, it became a horrible regime that should be bombed out of existence?

The senators weren't just there to make nice talk, though:

Senator McCain assured Muatassim that the United States wanted to provide Libya with the equipment it needs for its TRIPOLI 00000677 002.2 OF 002 security. He stated that he understood Libya's requests regarding the rehabilitation of its eight C130s (ref D) and pledged to see what he could do to move things forward in Congress. He encouraged Muatassim to keep in mind the long-term perspective of bilateral security engagement and to remember that small obstacles will emerge from time to time that can be overcome. He described the bilateral military relationship as strong and pointed to Libyan officer training at U.S. Command, Staff, and War colleges as some of the best programs for Libyan military participation.

This is extraordinary, given that McCain and his friends have spent the better part of the year shaking their angry fists at President Obama for not using McCain's patented bomb-bomb-bomb military strategy.

In February, Lieberman criticized the president as well:

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, agreed on “State of the Union” that the United States should have come out early with a stronger response. “I wish we had spoken out much more clearly and early against the Gadhafi regime,” the Connecticut Independent said.

Now is the time to step up action against Gadhafi, said Lieberman, who endorsed giving weapons to citizens who are trying to form a new government.

Of course, it was only two years ago that Lieberman endorsed giving weapons to Gaddafi himself.

In March, Lieberman was at it again:

“I think if the world had acted earlier – you know, two or three weeks since the conflict turned bloody is not a long period of time, but in a conflict it’s a long period of time,” Lieberman said. “Gadhafi had such an advantage in terms of logistics, command-and-control weapons, that time helped him every day, while the world refused to make the decision."

Continue reading here.