Ake, Gaddafi was the first real taste of terrorism that the U.S. experienced. Of all the rulers of all the nations in the world, Gaddafi was the one the U.S. despised most.

Whether we were justified in thinking that or now, I think most Americans felt almost as much relief at the death of Gaddafi (20 Oct 2011), as they felt over the death of Osama bin Laden (2 May 2011). It felt like we had eliminated our two main enemies without having to go to war.

The Benghazi attack took place on the evening of September 11, 2012. We didn't feel so sure of ourselves after that.

-Joe-