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Rethinking Libya

Devon Douglas-Bowers

3/26/11

English- Essay #3

Rethinking Libya

Two weeks ago, the United States began Operation Odyssey Dawn and with it the

bombing of Libya. While there is no doubt that Gaddafi is insane and that the Libyan people

need help, there are still some issues that must be raised such as: the democratic hypocrisy of the

United States in regards to Libya, the unclear endgame objectives, and the fact that there are anti-

American forces among the rebels.

United Nations coalition forces have been bombing Libya in support of a democratic

movement. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1973 states that the

bombings are occurring to “protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in

the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of

any form on any part of Libyan territory”(Guardian). However, it is quite strange that while the

US and its allies feel the need to step in to help the democratic movement in Libya, they have no

incentive to do the same in Bahrain (where America’s Fifth Fleet anchors its ships) or Yemen

(where the US has been giving ‘President’ Saleh millions in military aid to fight Al Qaeda).

Over in Bahrain, the government of King Hama ibn Isa Al Khalifa, “has unleashed its

security forces, in league with those of our ally and sometime client Saudi Arabia, to murder and

in every way crush the nonviolent opposition arrayed against its unjust rule” (Gourevitch). From

President Obama to President Sarkozy of France, many have raised their voices in support of the

Libyan people and readily profess their love of democracy, yet choose to ignore the ongoing
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suffering in Bahrain and Yemen. In this blatant hypocrisy, the coalition risks that their

humanitarian intervention will not be seen as legitimate, but rather as a grab for Libya’s massive

oil reserves.

The hypocrisy continues in the fact that the UNSC has enacted an arms embargo on

Libya, yet the Egyptian government is smuggling weapons into Libya in order to aid the rebels.

The shipments are mostly assault rifles, along with ammunition (Reuters). The United Nations is

already breaking its embargo and it has not even been two weeks since the resolution was

enacted! This further exposes the hypocrisy of the operation. There is no arms embargo on

Libya; rather there is an arms embargo on pro-Gaddafi forces.

Coalition forces, it seems, have been so eager to intervene in Libya that they have yet to

fully plan out the endgame objectives (EGOS) for the intervention. President Obama originally

stated that the US wanted to overthrow Gaddafi, “but now that we are using force, he says we

only want to stop him from killing more civilians” (Gergen). The problem with not having clear

EGOS is that one constantly changes or makes up objectives as he goes along. A prime example

of this is the invasion of Iraq, where initially President Bush first said that the EGOS for Iraq

were to rid Iraq of its WMDs, yet quickly turned into overthrowing Saddam and establishing a

democracy when the WMDs ‘couldn’t be found.’ While there are those who will argue for

military intervention, what is the point of intervening if we do not have clearly defined EGOS?

How many civilians can we save and rebels can we aid if we do not know what our plans are at

the end of the day? Even top military advisors are worried. ABC News reports:

“The top U.S. military officer suggested that Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi might

stay in power in spite of the military assault aimed at protecting civilians, calling into
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question the larger objective of an end to Gadhafi's erratic 42-year rule. Other top U.S.

officials have suggested that a weakened and isolated Gadhafi could be ripe for a coup.”

US officials even disagree on what our objectives are in Libya! There are many who would

argue that while we do not have EGOS, the Libyans seem to be supportive of the intervention.

“An American airman who bailed out over Libya was rescued from his hiding place in a sheep

pen by villagers who hugged him, served him juice and thanked him effusively for bombing their

country” (D. Kristof). However, if we do not have clear EGOS, then an anarchic situation may

arise when Gaddafi is ousted.

While the US and its allies are supporting the Libyan uprising, the question that has yet to

be asked is: Exactly who are these people that make up the rebels? While there are definitely

those rebels who support democracy, there are also some rather unsavory elements within the

Libyan rebel community. During the Iraq war, out of all the foreign fighters that came to combat

coalition forces, most of them came from Libya and in that, “almost all of them came from

eastern Libya, the center of the anti-Gaddafi rebellion that the United States and others now have

vowed to protect, according to internal al Qaeda documents uncovered by U.S. intelligence”

(Wood). This is not to say that every single person in eastern Libya is a potential terrorist

suspect, rather, the coalition should be cautious about exactly who we are protecting.

Currently, the US and its allies have not been talking in the slightest about who exactly is

part of the Libyan rebellion. They do not seem to know, or care for that matter, about who

exactly is being protected. Not only did eastern Libya send the most foreign fighters off to Iraq,

it is also “the home of the Islamic Libyan Fighting Group, an anti-Gaddafi organization officially

designated by the State Department as a terrorist organization” (Wood). The Islamic Libyan
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Fighting Group is known to have deep, serious ties to Al Qaeda. In 2007, then-Libyan AQ leader

announced that the Fighting Group was “‘joining al Qaeda as loyal soldiers’” (Ersan) (emphasis

added). This presents some serious problems as the Fighting Group is still active in Libya and by

intervening on behalf of the rebels and allowing weapons to be shipped to them, we are

indirectly aiding a known terrorist group! While there are some disagreements between those

who support the intervention and those who oppose it, one thing that everyone is likely to agree

on is that terrorist groups should not be aided in any way whatsoever. Once again, it needs to be

reiterated that not all of Libya is filled with terrorists and former regime members, but still the

coalition needs to be aware of what is going on in the rebel movement and realize that once

Gaddafi is gone, extremist elements may begin to mobilize in a bid for power.

Without a doubt, there is a serious case for intervention in Libya. However, there are

some major problems that need to be worked out so that the intervention can be successful and

so that there will be a true democracy in Libya after Gaddafi is gone. It is important that the

Libyan people will not see their rebellion as being co-opted by terror groups or that only the

figure in charge has changed, rather than the substance. Even though there may be disagreements

between those who favor intervention and others who oppose it, there is one thing that, no matter

what, both sides can agree on: that the will of the Libyan people be yielded to and a democracy

be put emplace. That should be what we all put our efforts into.
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Works Cited

"Libya Bombing Called Successful; Endgame Unclear - ABC News." ABCNews.com:

Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC
News. 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13177834>.

Ersan, Inal. "Zawahri Says Libyan Group Joins Al Qaeda | Reuters." Business &
Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. 03 Nov. 2007. Web. 26 Mar.
2011. <http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/11/03/us-libya-qaeda-idUSL032828220071103?
sp=true>.

"UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011) on Libya – Full Text | World News | The
Guardian."Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk. 17 Mar.
2011. Web. 26 Mar. 2011. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/17/un-security-council-
resolution>.

Gergen, David. "What Is Obama's Endgame in Libya? - CNN.com." CNN.com -

Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 25
Mar. 2011. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/20/gergen.washington.libya/index.html>.

Gourevitch, Philip. "News Desk: Libya: All Necessary Measures?" The New Yorker. 18
Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/03/libya-all-necessary-
measures.html>

Kristof, Nicholas D. "Hugs From Libyans." Newyorktimes.com. 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 25

Mar. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/opinion/24kristof.html?_r=1>.

"Egypt Arming Libya Rebels: Report | Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking
US & International News | Reuters.com. 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/18/us-libya-weapons-idUSTRE72H29O20110318>.

Wood, David. "Anti-American Extremists Among Libyan Rebels U.S. Has Vowed To
Protect."Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html>.