#"What the Libyan Resistance Needs" El Warfally

 
"We know it is our fight to win or lose, but there is also much at stake for the international community. If the Libyan revolution stalls or is defeated, a vindictive or resurgent Colonel Qaddafi and his regime will present the world with a greater danger than even Osama bin Laden. The faster the regime comes to an end, the better it will be for Libya and the safer it will be for the world."  El Warfally

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Bonaparte insisted that "men are nothing, the man is everything."  The current unrest has not had a voice.  In this Libyan, the "Arab Spring" has found a voice.  Let us heed that voice.

Gates carps that weapons expended, fuel, etc. have cost 750 million dollars so far?   The rebels in Libya are fighting for a set of goals that are at least comprehensible from a Western point of view.  What are getting for our 2 billion a WEEK in Afghanistan as well as the money we are pouring into Pakistan?

I will answer my own questions.

In Afghanistan we have bought entre into a proxy war between India and Pakistan. As our contribution to that conflict we are attempting to build a new and different Afghanistan.

In Pakistan we have made a down-payment in a process that if continued to a logical conclusion leads to ever bigger and bigger "investments" in "building" a new Pakistan as well, one that would be unfriendly to Muslim zealots.  There will, of course, be no such Pakistan, but the COINistas and the neocon zealots who still have remarkable influence in the US government fervently believe that this would happen if we just persisted for another decade or so.

I have preached before that consistency is not a virtue in foreign plicy.  A country's interests must set agendas and priorities.  Having said that, I think the time has come to consider whether the behavior of the Arab autocrats and the Pakistani deceivers does not demand a re-examination of American interests in that part of the world.

In that light Al-Warfally's statement seems to summon us to a commitent to modernism and popular government in the Middle East and South Asia.  We should think that through carefully.  pl

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/opinion/13elwarfally.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Comments

[arbogast]

I agree completely. Your case, as stated, is eloquent and coherent. What more need be said?

I would like to add, perhaps tangentially, that I would vote for John McCain for President.

I could not vote for him with Sarah Palin as his running mate or with my belief that Obama would extricate us from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Obama was and is a liar.

McCain would not pick Palin again.

What could we do, if we wanted to, to ask John McCain to run for President?

I'm serious, though I may not be taken seriously.

[William R. Cumming]

Here is to thoughtful rexamination!

Perhaps time for another of your summary takes on status of Arab Spring PL?

Syrian reform looks dead to me.

[Patrick Lang]

WRC

Syrian reform is dead. The Syrian revolution is just starting. pl

[Ken Hoop]

The only "commitment" to the Mideast and Afpak the US should summon is the methodical commitment to get out, no strings, troops, mercenaries or foreign aid attached.

[The Twisted Genius]

I absolutely agree. As the old dictum goes, It's time to reinforce success and starve failure. I hope Obama recognizes the National Transitional Council before the weekend is over. That would be a good start.

El Warfally's background marks him as a potentially effective figure in shaping the new Libya if not other Arab nations where the democratic fervor has taken hold. PL, are you familiar with the "United Arab Training Manual" that he put together in the 80's? I think I'll try to dig up some of his writings.

[William R. Cumming]

Thanks PL!

[bth]

Is there a leader emerging among the Libyan rebels?

[bth]

The 4 requests of the Libyan transition council listed in the NYT editorial are entirely reasonable and should be acted upon immediately.

[William P. Fitzgerald III]

Pat Lang,

It was W.S. Churchill who said "Consistency is the humbug of small minds".

Referring to Arbogast's comment on the Prez, I submit a syllogism:
All effective politicians tell lies.
President Obama is an effective politician.
Therefor, President Obama tells lies.

WPFIII

[Charles I]

TTG if I heard Obama on the radio Friday saying it is not time to recognize whomever, what's a weekend between wars? Reasoned eloquence as above has a poor track record. And what if the US recognized them and they ask for military assistance - depose MQ and expel his mercenaries for us, and we'll pump every drop your way?. Whatever's an oil compa, er a government to do then?

POTUS seems justly wary of further commitments of any kind no matter how indicated, surely due to the losers he has going on now, and no doubt Pakistani alarums being whispered into many ears.

As this forum counsels Enough Already!.

On the other hand, wouldn't Libya be a great place to wage the GWOT against Yemen from?

[Patrick Lang]

WPF

He must have been quoting
Emerson. pl

[Colin]

I was disappointed to see Mr. Arbogast’s political screed make it past the comment editors. Is his anti-Obama attack any more than the standard “all politicians lie” (including John McCain) stated in Mr. Fitzgerald’s syllogism? Or is there a specific relevant case that can be cited? The “Vote for McCain” advocacy is not only tangential but irrelevant. He will not be running for President again. If there is a point that we would be better off in the current situation if McCain had been elected, I’d like to hear about it and exactly how he would have handled things better.

As long as we are on a tangent about Senator McCain, I appreciated very much hearing his recent comments on the Senate floor regarding the ineffectiveness of torture. That is the honorable old Senator McCain that I respected though often disagreed with; not the unprincipled presidential candidate who selected Sarah Palin and toadied to the extreme right wing. Who ever that man was, he would not then or now have made a good President.

Back to the point of the post, I again agree wholeheartedly with Col. Lang. As usual, you are "spot on".

[shanks]

After reading this, I believe you're incorrect, sir in reading the Libya situation.

http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/05/11/jp-morgan-hunt-afghan-gold/

Whatever it is, it's certainly NOT your country's interest or any other strategic reason that Qaddhafi has to go. When the dust settles, it's going to be over some oil futures contract for some random Corporate Oil company.

Hired guns and all that, with a reference to Smedley Butler would be more appropriate than anything else. Why should anyone care for inter tribal rivalries in the boonies of Libya? And it all appears to be 60s African dictator setups redux by British/French mercenaries. A poor investment, if you ask me.

[The Twisted Genius]

Charles I,

Alas, Obama will surely disappoint me by Monday morning. El Warfally is probably even more disappointed. However, he has never been a fan of U.S. occupation forces in Iraq or Afghanistan. I seriously doubt he would ask for an occupation of his own country. It would be disingenuous of him to ask for it and it would be foolish for us to ever do so. What El Warfally asked for was limited and reasonable. We missed a chance to put our money where our mouth is concerning the Arab Spring. Instead, we mouth words, but stick with the mess in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as our active policy towards the region. I agree, enough of this already. Add to that our simple inability to do anything to affect events in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Syria. We're screwed.

As far as waging GWOT from Libya goes, that's an unnecessary and silly notion. We could base off a Naval platform or out of Europe easy enough. If we need a temporary clandestine base closer to a target, such as a FARRP, we can do that as needed.

[The Twisted Genius]

Shanks,

Smedley Butler, indeed! I would hope our leaders would want to help the Libyan rebels defeat Qathafi for the same reason Marquis de Lafayette and Comte de Grasse came to our aid at Yorktown... liberty. I'm not sure if the late Major General would agree with my willingness to support the Libyan rebels. After all, he said there were only two things worth fighting for, the defense of our homes and the Bill of Rights. However, I'm sure Smedley would agree that if some corporate entity wants to go after Libyan oil or Afghan gold, they can do so on their own dime and with their own lives.