Friday, March 25, 2011

LIBYA AND HER LIBERATORS: US AND THEM

I do not subscribe, at least wholesale, to the intimation that the current events in Libya are a foreign import. I am positive that the native frustration with “Colonel” Qaddafi’s regime for the past couple of decades has been most genuine. It does not matter that, under Qaddafi, Libya had enjoyed (until the Odyssey Dawn, at least) one of the highest standards of living in Africa. Even in the richest country on earth, the United States of America, there are many millions of discontented citizens, and having a disgruntled opposition in Libya cannot come as a big surprise even to those who do not follow world affairs for a living.
Yes, for a very long time, there has been an authentic opposition to Qaddafi in Libya, and yes, that selfsame opposition has become quite active in the course of the recent events, no matter what its actual impetus had been lately. In other words, the attempted revolution in Libya has been genuine, no matter what.
However, I do doubt that the forces of this revolution are overwhelming. In fact, I think that they are evenly matched at best with the defenders of the status quo. Or perhaps, they had been evenly matched, before the foreign nations started bombing Libya.
Whereas a week ago, as I am sure, the majority of the Libyan opposition had been genuine patriots of their nation, I am equally sure that in the last week or so their loyalties have shifted rather substantially.
Don’t get me wrong. I am well aware of the past history of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. I do know that there is a historical divide between Western and Eastern Libya. But I also know that a foreign intervention of any sort had never before succeeded in solving such domestic problems, but, on the contrary, had usually helped the warring nation to consolidate behind its existing government, good or rotten. So far, I see no exception in Libya today.
Although I am not cognizant of all the numerous and subtle details of the present situation in Libya, I have no doubt that the ongoing Western intervention is neither helping the rebels, nor promoting the Western oil interests (except those of Germany). I think that the West, be that American or West European experience with multi-culturalism, is all messed up about this matter. Whatever happens now, no good is going to come out of it.
The two key words are nationalism and foreign intervention. These two are totally incompatible. No matter what the multi-culturalists think, not too many people in this world think too much of multiple citizenship or of multiple loyalties, for that matter. Our son-of-a-bitch is always preferable to the foreign liberator. For the people know that it is natural for a foreigner to pursue his own foreign interest, whereas even the very worst dictator’s selfish interest is, after all said and done, a native interest.
…I am following the events unfolding in Libya with an unabashed curiosity. If I were a betting man, I would as sure as heck put my money off the liberators, but rather on the outsiders, waiting on the sidelines.

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