Vengeance, guilt or the black gold: unmasking deception and confusion on Libya

The fear that there was going to be a massacre in the Libyan city of Benghazi prompted the UN resolution1973 authorising "all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya. The intensity of combat operations by the allied forces in Libya seems to go beyond the resolution and its beginning to tell us more about the explicit and implicit objectives of the mission.

This article digs around the stated and the implied objectives of the mission. The author will argue that vengeance, guilt, historical imprinting and off course the black gold are at the heart of this combat operation. Before looking at each of the motivating factors lets deal with the issue of double standards by the Allied Nations and the Libyan Leadership.

Double standards

Western superpowers desperately convey the message that they promote and nurture democracy in different parts of the world. However evidence shows that some of the dictatorships and pariah states have been sustained by the Western superpowers. What's more is that there is evidence that Western superpowers have broadly turned a blind eye on dictatorships as long as they benefit from them. Typically we have seen Western Leaders hugging, cosying up and making deals with the Libyan leadership.
   
In many ways most dictatorships and Marxist Leninist proponents fiercely argue against neoliberal policies within their locality. Surprisingly their appetite for neoliberal fruits challenges their ideological positions. The same leaders who argue against western policies send their families to western educational institutions, sponsor them and even make contracts with western companies. It is surprising that the Libyan leadership's has off springs educated by the western institutions which they don't believe in and they have given/ sponsored and showered those institutions with financial donations. How can one love eating eggs and not appreciate the chicken.

There is no doubt that there is a duelling of standards by the two camps. With this in mind let's turn to the underpinnings and drivers of the combat operations which I summarised as vengeance, guilt, historical imprinting and the black gold.

Vengeance
            
The release of the lockerbie bomber on compassionate grounds did not go down well with many. Furthermore the celebratory reception that the lockerbie bomber got in Libya was an insult to some as it seemed to portray victory. This prompted the US to demand an enquiry into the release of the lockerbie bomber. Although it took a while for the US to come on board on the no fly zone, it was very obvious that this was a perfect opportunity for retribution. Indeed the US later seized the opportunity; the infliction needs not be discussed as it has dominated the headlines for several weeks.

Guilt
   
There are all sorts of reasons to why the US did not leap at the opportunity; the obvious ones include existing wars in Moslem Countries and logistics. However the cloud of the 1986 US bombing of Libya (Operation El Dorado Canyon) stills hangs. The US had to tread carefully because they risked walking into the hands of the Libyan Leadership. The UK was also in an awkward position after releasing the lockerbie bomber. Corporate deals on arms and oil which involved British leadership and companies made the situation messy. The democratic momentum sweeping across Arabic countries presented an opportunity for the western powers to purge themselves of their past.

Historical imprinting

The momentum of the democratic developments surprised many but for politicians who remember the domino effect on communism it was obvious that history was being made. The idea of imprinting names on great moments just arouses politicians. While the democratic developments were organic, politicians saw a personal need to get crash in the process so that their names could be imprinted on the right page of democracy. Typically this is true of all leaders involved in the coalition of the willing. However the French Leadership hoped for a bonus of gaining political momentum in their election by portraying themselves as pro democracy through the intervention.
 
The black gold

The fact that Libya is one of the biggest oil producing African countries cannot be ignored. It is pretty clear that in other African countries where there is no oil there has been lack of appetite to confront dictatorships. Western cooperate powers would better work and manipulate desperate and inexperienced administrations in the event of a change of leadership. Furthermore if the new leadership happens to be the opposition that is being supported by the coalition of the willing, it will be obliged to pay back some favours in one way or the other but the most obvious is the black gold.
     
What's emerging and the uncertainty
 
In conclusion the Libyan leadership has made concession after concession but those in opposition are firmly calling for the leadership to go. There is no doubt that protecting the civilians of Libya is one thing and calling for the leadership to go is another. However a closer look at the UN resolution shows that it was deliberately made loose to accommodate the unstated. The stated objective being the protection of civilians but the implied objective is the removal of the Libyan Leadership.
 
Despite the implicit objective Libya could be heading for a stalemate which might be difficult to manage and even put the coalition of the willing on the wrong page of democracy. What's more is that there is lack clarity on the context of the rebels which means that the coalition of the willing might be supporting a camp they don't know much about. Some have already pointed out similarities between the rebels and some extreme organisations .Whether history is going to be kind to the rebels or the coalition of the willing is yet to be seen...............
 
Farai Chikowore: is a Local Governance Reader who graduated in Strategic Public Management (MSc) and in Public Policy Government and Management (BA, Honours) at De Montfort University. He likes to evaluate the contribution of political discourse to understanding government policies. His main areas of interest are in Research in: Partnership Working, Local government, Local governance, Democratic renewal, Policy process and Strategic Management.He can be contacted through Bulawayo24.