printIn the course of the catalogue of Obaminations the president has inflicted on the country, the Big Dog has chosen to wag the dog at convenient times.
To ‘wag the dog’ means to purposely divert attention from what would otherwise be of greater importance, to something else of lesser significance. By doing so, the lesser-significant event is catapulted into the limelight, drowning proper attention to what was originally the more important issue.
The government has spent time and money barring Americans from accessing public places. At the same time, and during a government shutdown, Obama has given the go-ahead for a military operation in Libya and Somalia about which the targeted countries are unhappy.
The seizure in Tripoli of the alleged al-Qaida operative Abu Anas al-Liby prompted the Libyan government to issue an angry statement, questioning the US account that Liby had been detained with its full knowledge. The statement said: “As soon as it heard the reports, the Libyan government contacted the United States authorities to demand an explanation [for] the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen.”
US officials had briefed the media on Saturday that the mission had been conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, but on Sunday an official told the Guardian: “We consult regularly with the Libyan government on a range of issues. We do not get into the specifics of our communication.”
It’s hard to know what Americans think, if they do indeed think. Will Obama succeed in wooing a war-loving people, or have Americans wizened up to his ways?