Obama’s drive-by strategy in Libya was a disaster—morally and strategically.

CNN reported “Libya’s government has been unable to impose its authority over a myriad of militia groups that have grown in power and influence since the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.”

Libya’s latest prime minister was driven into hiding by violent threats. Much of the country is utterly ungoverned and, as the Daily Beast’s national security writer Eli Lake put it, “its lawless regions provide an ideal haven for al Qaeda affiliates and fellow travelers.”

Liberated from the murderous Gadhafi, Libya became “a jihadist melting pot,” in the words of one national security official Lake spoke to.

The chaos has spread. Libya’s borders with Tunisia and Algeria have seen a huge uptick in smuggled gasoline, weapons, and drugs. The New York Times reported in early 2013 that “weapons looted from the colonel’s stockpiles could find their way to militants in sub-Saharan Africa.”