Post Eighteen

On Libya

I try not to stray into the wild and woolly world of foreign affair op-eds as these subjects are highly controversial, and could provoke unwanted chagrin from those who read this blog.  However, the media has so badly handled the Libya conflict that I thought I would dedicate a short blog to getting the facts straight.  When you study or read about a civil war one must at least have some historical perspective beyond that being provided by our traditional media sources.  Here is a brief history lesson.

The first thing you should know about Libya is that Libya is not a country in the normal sense.  After World War II, the victorious Allied powers drew a few lines on a map, and put a king in charge of the newly-drawn country.  It says something about the creation when the king, Idris-al Sanusi, wanted no part of the plan.  He was first and foremost a tribal ruler of a section of what became Libya, and had no ambition beyond that role.  This king was overthrown by a military coup lead by a junta of ambitious junior army officers in 1969, and that was when Muammar Gaddafi came to power.  Throughout the Cold War, Lybia was a pawn of the Soviet Union, and like Castro in Cuba, was given generous amounts of military equipment in order to stay in power.

During Libya's time as a Soviet client-state it embarked on foolish terrorist operations (like the Pan Am disaster over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988) which made the regime a pariah and embarrassment even to it's Soviet benefactor.  In recent years, Gaddafi has tried rebuilding his status in the world, and until recent events, has been a trusted trade partner with several Western European nations including Great Britain. 

The country of Libya is actually composed of three tribal regions: 1.  Tripolitania (western Libya which includes the largest city and the capitol, Tripoli) 2. Cyrenaica (eastern Libya which includes Benghazi and Tobruk; the two cities that are involved in the rebellion) and 3. Fezzan (southern Libya which is primarily desert and oasis).  These are tribal regions in the literal sense.  The only thing that really binds them together is their religion, Islam.  Of these two loyalties, tribe and Islam, tribe holds more sway with most people. 

Of course, the only real reason anyone cares about Libya in the first place is oil.  Europe is the prime consumer of the substance from this region, and the regional powers have been fighting over the area for a very long time.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the leading countries pressing for a no-fly zone are European. 

It also says something when the Arab League, an anti-democratic alliance of Arab despots, supports the European call for the destruction of the Gaddafi regime.  Common sense would indicate that when democratic western countries and dictatorial despotic regimes agree on something this significant then something stinks.  I'm not saying that Gaddafi is a good guy because he isn't.  He is a murderous despot who has no respect for human rights or the welfare of his people.  But I could say that about most of the Arab League and OPEC. 

Here is the bottom line:  Libya is not a country, and it never has been.  We have no right to dictate it's fate because the people who actually live there don't even want to be part of the country we created in the first place.  Instead, this situation should be allowed to run it's course without the intervention of Western or Arab powers whose interests lie in nothing greater than their own greed and avarice.

For centuries, outside powers have decided the fate of "countries" like Libya.  It's high-time we start letting people be truly free by deciding for themselves what is best for them.  Gaddafi's days are numbered in any case; his position has been irreparably weakened, and you can only pay a mercenary army so long before the money runs out.

I am not a fool, and I do realize that oil is essential to our economy.  But consider that Libay only represents less than 2% of the world's oil reserves.  Also consider that Libya's contributions to the U.S. oil supply is negligible.  And, finally, consider that a far more cost effective strategy would be to allow new oil drilling and refining in the U.S. rather than involving ourselves in another civil conflict.  What makes more sense?

As Galadriel in Lord of the Rings says, "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife.  Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all."  Let us hope that our leaders have the prescient wisdom to see the situation for what it is, not what they want it to be.  The time for Wilsonian Democracy and Manifest Destiny is over.  We can either accept this fact, or proceed down a very dark road indeed.