Allied War Machine Purposeless in Libya

So, what was it that Europe and the U.S. sought to gain when they plunged head-first into Libya’s civil war?  Beats us. We can understand what motivated the French, since they were the first to act on the possibly mistaken belief that their former good friend Col. Qaddafy was headed toward certain defeat. Considering the way things are going, they may have to remove the word “Alive” from the “Wanted Dead or Alive” poster they’ve effectively pinned on Kadafy’s caftan. As for America’s involvement, no one seems to know why we got involved in the first place, much less what will be required of us after the bombing stops. Perhaps the French will be so kind as to instruct us when the time comes.  In the meantime, the “international coalition,” which also includes Great Britain, seems to be having a rollicking good time strafing loyalists forces and “protecting” the rebels. But it’s more than a little unsettling to see the ostensible allies squabbling over what is to come next, and who will lead. 

If it is nation-rebuilding our politicians have in mind, then Kadhaffi may indeed have to be exiled, if not rubbed out, since he doesn’t seem like the kind of dictator who will be content to chill at the oasis. More likely, as we mentioned here earlier, is that he will do everything in his still-lethal power to avoid handing over Libya’s oil capacity to the U.S., France, Britain et al.   Meanwhile, events thus far have attracted the bemused attention of Germany, Russia, China and a few other ostensibly neutral spectators who, one gathers, would always be perfectly content to do business with Kadhafy. Although this coalition of the unwilling obviously relishes telling the world how appalled they are by the allies’ strategically senseless assault against Kadafie, the entertainment value is bound to fade quickly when it comes time to decide who will extract and process Libyan’s ultra low-cost crude after the fighting stops.

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As for Mr. Obama…

As for President Obama’s role in this international brawl, whether inadvertently or not, he may have furthered his goal of shaking America’s reputation as a war-mongering bunch of imperialists. For when the dust has settled in Libya, our enemies are more likely to view us as the bumbling incompetents we have become under Mr. Obama than a willful juggernaut out to subjugate the world.  Incidentally, if you’re interested in finding out what’s really going on in Libya (and in Egypt), as well as the stakes involved, Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick has written a pellucid essay on the subject – America’s Descent into Strategic Dementia — that you can access by clicking here.

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