Quote Originally Posted by Rex Brynen View Post
There has been a great deal of spontaneous community organization in Libya, which has offset much of the institutional disorganization (or even lack of institutions, which was a hallmark of Qadaffi's rule). There is also a widespread sense of 'ownership" of the revolution by the people themselves--a sharp contrast to US regime change in Iraq. Most of the "looting" has involved carting off souvenirs from Qaddafi palaces or regime security installations.

In Benghazi, I was struck by 1) how little formal SSR had been undertaken, although by that point the NTC had been in control for 5 months--most of the policing was still volunteer; 2) how well it worked--the place seemed considerably safer than a great many non-conflict cities.

Unlike Egypt (or even Iraq), the regular civil police do not seem to have been associated in the popular mind with domestic repression, which undoubtedly will help in reconstituting them.
Sorry Rex if I ak you again the same question that maybe you have not seen (or maybe you chose to not to reply... ) but since you have been on the terrain (I was in a delegation organizing a visit in Bengazi too but we were sopped) and you say that no widespread looting has taken place.

Do you have any information about Central Bank and banking system?

I think that this kind of critical points are rather overlooked in the coverage. Libyan dinar has always been a currency with a complex history.
Its future value could have a strong influence in reconstruction (and debt settlements for Libyan state)