Even in an isolated and remote place like Libya, surrounded by ocean and empty desert, when you take sides and depose leaders, regardless of how benign or noble the reason, stuff is going to happen that you have no way of predicting. The ripples will spread far and wide, and they won’t necessarily turn out the way you hope.

Those who now counsel we should do the same in Syria, or Iran, major players in densely populated regions surrounded by both allies and potential enemies and where the interests of many nations intersect, should pay close attention to what happens here. They also need to remember what happened in Iraq.

So how do you know whether to act or not, and if so, how much? You study the situation, consult your allies, exhaust all diplomatic options, do a careful cost/benefit analysis, and then cross your fingers.

Or, you can just ‘shock and awe’ their ass and let God sort it all out. We saw how well that worked out.