What next for Libya?

 

The attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and the subsequent deaths of the US Ambassador and three other Americans has brought this troubled country back on everybody’s agenda. It has been out of the news for some time now because, from the Western Powers point of view, there had been nothing “good” to report. 

In spite of mammoth support for sections of the then opposition against Gaddafi by these major powers, without which he would certainly NOT have been overthrown even now (as Syria is certainly proving), they are certainly not getting what they expected from their expensive intervention. 

But that support, mostly military and using both missiles and attack aircraft, still could not guarantee the dominance of that section of the opposition preferred by their western collaborators (and another look at Syria proves that also).

[NOTE: Even Winston Churchill after “winning the war” was still booted out of office by the returning forces and their hard pressed families in the 1945 General Election in the UK]

Indeed, the western supported group couldn’t even gain control of their own country, or even complete the task of dealing with Gaddafi, without the Libyan people taking things into their own hands and doing it for them.For in particular areas attacked by Gaddafi’s troops managed to first fight them off, and then pursue them all the way to Tripoli, and thereafter to Gaddafi’s home town, where they found him and killed him.

And it was these so called armed militia who began to control certain areas of the country, which they then refused to give up to any central authority (whoever they might be).

Naturally, the Western Powers were extremely concerned at these developments. Such independent armed groups were not what they had had in mind, for a post-Gaddafi Libya.

They, on the contrary, expected their support for the initial Middle Class opposition groups and the removal of Gaddafi, to lead to their protégés getting universal support from the Libyan people, and thus the consequent establishment of a western-style capitalist democracy to occur “quite naturally”. Only in this way, they reasoned, could they expect to see a profitable future from lucrative Oil deals with the new rulers.

So, from the very day of the final victory, these powers were calling upon the opposition Provisional Committee to immediately establish the Rule-of-Law - that is the immediate disarming of the militias and the construction of a new regime with adequate police and army to “guarantee” the situation.

But, that did not happen.

The Libyans “February Revolution” had instead an increasing chance of turning into their “October Revolution” (That is in the same way as in Russia in 1917). 

That was certainly not the intention of the Capitalist Powers, and the accelerating leakage of control to the Militia Groups, seemed to require instead a very strong regime to make things safe for what they wanted to see there – like a friendly Gaddafi or Mubarak, perhaps.

Those who lauded the Arab Spring for the sake of the peoples involved, must beware what the capitalist powers may resort to next. The killings in Benghazi could be used to excuse the “sending of robust help” to establish stability: intervention may be the next move! 

Indeed, already US drone planes have been used in East Libya, ostensibly to root out Al Qaida cells supposedly encamped in that area, and there is an increasing amount of discussion also on how the West can help to establish a countrywide Rule-of-Law.

Beware the bringing in of advisors and trainers and the stepping up of drone attacks, but this time quite definitely against the militia groups, for they will certainly not hesitate to attack those attempting to complete the Revolution in their own way.

On monitoring the US TV channels, I was amazed to hear absolutely nothing about the derogatory film made in California by a citizen of Israel along with several American collaborators, which was the reason for these reactions, not only in Libya, but also in Egypt. Yet within 24 hours strong suggestions are being propagated by the US that the attack in Benghazi had nothing to do with that film and inferring that it had been planned totally independently of that occurrence.

We must oppose all such lies and demand,

“All Power to the Libyan People! Complete your Revolution!”