My reflections on the Libyan civil war

Opening statement:

I don’t have any independent, intimate knowledge of Libya, its people, Gadhafi, or the nuances of their current internal conflict. I am an American who, like the vast majority of my fellow citizens, has been fed only certain “facts” useful to our own ruling elite. That being said, I’ll offer some thoughts.

How quickly and massively they rose up…

I’m a bit suspicious as to the genuineness of this (apparently) popular and broad-based uprising. The rebels seemed to appear from nowhere and were everywhere at once. I’m not saying that’s impossible, though perhaps those fires were stoked by US operatives after having been nurtured for years (decades?). Decades…yes, why not? Once seeds are planted, one must be patient.

I’m also a bit suspicious as to how quickly came the call that Gadhafi should be brought up on war crimes charges. That was blatantly stupid – you don’t encourage a head of state to step down by threatening to bring him up on charges as soon as he’s out of power.

This much I’ve picked up on – my government doesn’t like Moammar El-Gadhafi. Frankly, I don’t care for what reason. That doesn’t matter in the overall scheme of things. But this dislike is obvious.

The fact that some of Gadhafi’s pilots abandoned his cause speaks volumes to me. For a military man to abandon his commander is profound – no matter from what area of the world he hails. He risks everything, especially if the revolution fails. He leaves behind family and friends who might suffer repercussions. And such a decision doesn’t come easily: It violates an ingrained default – that a soldier gives his superiors the benefit of a huge amount of doubt.

So why? What forces have worked on those who deserted from the ranks? Did long-term US subversion have anything to do with it? Were these men promised anything in exchange for their desertion? If, as has been argued, these men could not follow orders to bomb civilians, then they must truly rank among the exceptional. But…at this point, we really don’t know what their orders were. Remember: Truth is the first casualty of war.

And suppose they had been ordered to bomb civilians. What of that? There are military commanders the world over who would practice a little terrorism in the name of shortening the conflict and saving lives that would be lost otherwise. If you’re tempted to think “How awful,” keep two words in mind: Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The issue of foreign intervention

Now I put on my hat as a presidential candidate in the 2012 US presidential election:

If I were president right now, I wouldn’t even be tempted to intervene – militarily or otherwise. In fact, I wouldn’t even make any move to freeze Libyan assets. If the US Congress wanted to take action, I would veto any bill they generated toward that end. Why? To force them to take a real stand – pass the bill over my veto with the required two-thirds majority.

It’s not that I wish to show support for Gadhafi by vetoing such legislation. I aim for a higher principle: I wish to destroy the Imperial US Presidency. I am aghast that any sane man would think one man should have the right to make or endorse an act of war. And that’s what such action would be – an act of war. And I emphasize – that’s all the US President is – one man. If the representatives of the American people – the duly-elected Congress – wish to take action, it should be by a bold (that is, two-thirds) majority. And I would serve notice that I, as one man, would not enable the Congress; would not make it any easier for them to make this decision. I would insist on as close to a bipartisan show of force as possible.

I personally believe the Libyan situation is a golden opportunity – to subtract the United States from the equation. We are not the policeman of the world. Leadership from other quarters will never come to the fore if we keep butting in. In this case, it is far more appropriate for other actors to step up to this stage. I’m thinking of other Muslim states primarily. Hasn’t the West been accused of meddling in Islamic affairs far too often?

I hope, after all is said and done, that the House of Saud will not be found lacking in charity. That they didn’t sit on their billions rather than render even a token amount of humanitarian aid. And as for establishing any kind of a No-Fly Zone, Saudi Arabia has a very capable air force.

Ah, yes…that whole business of the No-Fly Zone. No one wants to take any initiative. Leading players in the West speak of obtaining consensus to enable UN enforcement. But why? People like US Defense Secretary Gates pretend it would be difficult for the US to enforce such a Zone. But the good secretary is being deceptive. What he’s talking about is a foolproof net that dominates the entire Libyan countryside. And he says the US would first have to bomb Libyan air defenses to start the ball rolling.

Who is he kidding? If (and I’m being Devil’s Advocate here) the US, the EU, any single one of the EU countries (or a few acting collectively), or any of the Islamic states wanted to, they could simply decree such a Zone. They could announce: “If the Libyan air force puts a single plane in the air over rebel-held territory [or, if you’d prefer, the whole country], we will retaliate at a time and place of our choosing.”

That means, “we” wouldn’t have to scramble our jets each time one of Gadhafi’s aircraft went airborne. The decree could add: “For each plane you put up, we’ll flatten one parked on one of your runways…[or we’ll flatten them all, if you’d prefer].” And this "flattening" process doesn't even have to involve risk to "our" jets and pilots, since ship-to-surface missiles targeted by satellite or drones could do this trick quite nicely.

Final words for today

I don’t automatically accept that the intentions of my country are entirely honorable as regards Gadhafi, his fate, and that of Libya. I do, however, hope that others are allowed (by means of US non-intervention) to open a new chapter in the world’s use of its various powers.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of The Independent Contractors’ Party

“If we have a Congress full of independents, we’d be much likelier to do the right thing.”