No US boots on the ground at this time...
Post Q-Daffy led Libya has a number of issues, some of which have been covered in the thread to date and some which haven’t. Q-Daffy’s ability to run, hide, and engage the international and Libyan audiences on a number of miso themes speaks to a certain level of internal and external support. Any follow on government will be judged, strength wise, on their ability/inability to capture/judge/exile/kill him and his network. A process limited to the battlefield runs the risk of calling into question the follow on governments commitment to individuals, institutions, and governments being held accountable to law (Sharia, or otherwise). Q-Daffy’s willingness/encouragement to turn off the potable ‘Great Man-Made River’ and disrupt electrical and fuel deliveries speaks to his disregard for the welfare of the people of Libya while simultaneously speaking to the follow-on government’s inability to provide for basic human needs for noncombatants. Where is the GCC or similar with a desalinization plan? Although political instability and certain ideas may be considered catching, while actions taken in Libya might even be judged by actions not taken in Syria, nonetheless there are still a few days of Ramadan left and one would hope the spirit of the times would lead to regional efforts to provide some level of basics to noncombatants. Bodies found of late seem to point to retributionary killings and politically motivated assassinations. Perhaps it not too early to think about, as Rex mentions in a previous post, policing. Partnering with existing forces, vetting, training, and supervising police forces are very political activities that ideally would have civilian (not military if it can be avoided) primacy. Ideally the follow on government needs to provide just policing service; however previous multinational/regional policing models used in Panama, Haiti, Somalia, Cambodia, and El Salvador might be something to look at. The Economist 2011 world in figures provides a figure of 93.2 billion USD for Libya’s 2008 GDP. This estimate covers the legal economy and does not address the magnitude nor the incentives of the illicit economy. As always, there are many more items to think about, but from my armchair the overall trend at this time points toward Libyan civilian primacy being needed to solve Libyan problems.
As to control of Q-Daffy’s armaments, open source reporting seems to indicate that the ‘international community’ have taken the lessons of Iraq to heart; which is a very good thing to see. :D
US Tactics in Libya May Be a Model for Other Efforts
US Tactics in Libya May Be a Model for Other Efforts
Entry Excerpt:
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Libya could be the last place where the West is allowed to intervene
A interesting commentary from RUSI's main expert on the action taken; which ends with:
Quote:
In Paris, David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy will find themselves feted by the Libyans. They may even find time for a few self-congratulatory moments. But growing powers have growing vetoes. Further down the road, it is these states that will write the rules of the game and set its tacit expectations. Advocates of full-throated humanitarian intervention should not be surprised if Libya is one of its last hurrahs.
Apart from the theme some interesting points, e.g. the Chinese and Indian presence.
United now, for how long?
A long title 'Post-Gaddafi Libya: a police force trained by Britain; and an Islamist militia backed by Qatar' and just a short article:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/ro...cked-by-qatar/
A little detail on the UK's help:http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=6287
Abdel Hakim Belhaj appears
Now you may ask who is this man, who is the commander of the Tripoli Brigade?
Quote:
Mr Belhaj was a leader in the now dissolved Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which sent fighters to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he was detained in 2004 in Malaysia and sent to a secret prison in Thailand, where CIA agents tortured him. Then he was sent by the United States to Libya and sentenced to death by Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's regime, before his release last year.
Quote:
Libya is a moderate Muslim country. We call and hope for a civil country that is ruled by the law, which we were not allowed to enjoy under Gaddafi. The religious identity of the country will be left up to the people to choose. The February 17th revolution is the Libyan people's revolution, and no-one can claim it, neither secularists nor Islamists. No-one can make Libya suffer any more under any one ideology, or any one regime.
Link:http://www.scotsman.com/news/Rebel-l...?articlepage=1
The story is on the web, with many similar versions; Wikipedia has a very slim entry.