How Hillary Clinton's 'smart power' turned Libya into a dumpster fire

Another successful intervention. Another failed state riven by chaos and Islamist gangs.

Clinton arrives in Libya, Oct. 18, 2011
(Image credit: (AP Photo / Kevin Lamarque, Pool))

Nearly three years ago, then–Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waved a peace sign to cameras in Tripoli as she celebrated the U.S.-aided overthrow of the kleptocratic government of Moammar Gadhafi. Clinton claimed victory for her philosophy of "smart power," the self-regarding name for bombing people on behalf of rebel groups in a war that would be cheap and easily forgotten.

That wasn't long ago.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.