Rep. Heck has it gotten right on Libya

William T. Anton, North Las Vegas

Saturday, April 9, 2011 | 2:03 a.m.

The Las Vegas Sun’s March 31 editorial, “Leading in the real world,” missed key facts. As a retired U.S. Army Ranger, I have put my life on the line to ensure our freedoms. After 20 years in the military, it is a part of me. So I still follow U.S. operations and policymakers’ comments on those operations closely.

No one, from anywhere on the political spectrum, has questioned the humanitarian crisis in Libya. But if President Barack Obama was looking to make a “strong statement about America’s values and principles,” why have we not intervened in Syria or Sudan?

The insinuation that Republicans have, en masse, used this as an opportunity to tear down Obama for political gain seems disingenuous. One Nevadan in the House, Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., has spoken out against the Libya operation repeatedly: There is no clear national security interest; we don’t have an exit strategy; and we can’t afford the cost or troops.

We broke Iraq, now we have to fix it. It seems that for all of Obama’s criticisms of the Iraq War, he failed to learn its trappings.

Heck warned against the very same trappings before the no-fly zone began, and he continues his outspoken stance today. If one wants to find an exception to the Sun editorial’s claim that the GOP is playing politics with operations in Libya, one only needs to look to Heck.