{"id":3424,"date":"2011-03-20T17:08:21","date_gmt":"2011-03-20T17:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/victorhanson.com.108-166-28-151.mdgnetworks.com\/wordpress\/?p=3424"},"modified":"2013-03-27T17:10:15","modified_gmt":"2013-03-27T17:10:15","slug":"libya-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/libya-what-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Libya, What To Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n

National Review Online<\/em><\/p>\n

As with Egypt, American sympathies instinctively side with Libya’s oppositional forces as they seek to overthrow the tyrant Qaddafi \u2014 and rightfully so. But where US foreign policy is concerned, prudence is in order. This is especially the case considering that the Obama administration has evinced inconsistency, if not incoherence, regarding the Middle East: vowing not to “meddle” on behalf of Iranian dissidents, while eagerly disavowing onetime US ally Mubarak; confidently stating that Mubarak’s authority was secure at the start of the revolution, even as he was toppled weeks later; and misguidedly being open to talking with existentialist enemies such as the Muslim Brotherhood.<\/p>\n

The issue of oil looms large and is for some the primary impetus for US intervention in Libya. Yet as others have long insisted, it may well be time to look to other options (drilling in Alaska, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, etc.).<\/p>\n

Because of Qaddafi’s “eccentric” nature \u2014 the man has as many bizarre traits as he does last-name spellings \u2014 few people take anything he says seriously. Yet, as top Islamist cleric Qaradawi issues a fatwa to kill Qaddafi, and Obama asks the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia to arm oppositional forces \u2014 reminiscent of arming the Taliban against the Soviets (and we know how\u00a0that<\/em>\u00a0turned out) \u2014 one hopes that Qaddafi’s insistence that al-Qaeda-connected Islamists are relevant actors in the revolt does not turn out to be a classic case of the boy who cried wolf. Islamists and jihadists\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0have a knack of turning up where least expected and filling power vacuums. Add to that the\u00a0fact<\/a>\u00a0that “the [Obama] administration knows little about Libya’s well-armed rebels, [and] cannot predict the political system that might replace Gaddafi’s bizarre rule.”<\/p>\n

That Qaddafi is an anti-American and tyrannical thug, there is no doubt. But unless this administration has a clear and focused policy on what it wants to accomplish in Libya \u2014 one that does not include cozying up to Islamists or that is built solely atop temporary economic considerations \u2014 it may be best to let the Middle East’s latest survival-of-the-fittest installment play out, and go from there.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a92011 Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Raymond Ibrahim National Review Online As with Egypt, American sympathies instinctively side with Libya’s oppositional forces as they seek to overthrow the tyrant Qaddafi \u2014 and rightfully so. But where US foreign policy is concerned, prudence is in order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[159,227],"tags":[233,1055,1048,1043,160,1016],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-Te","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3342,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ideals-trump-interests-in-obamas-libya-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3424,"position":0},"title":"Ideals Trump Interests in Obama’s Libya Policy","author":"victorhanson","date":"April 15, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Hudson New York President Obama's\u00a0recent explanation\u00a0for militarily engaging Libya is yetanother example\u00a0of how US leaders increasingly rationalize their policies via sentimental and idealistic platitudes, rather than reality or the long view \u2014 or just plain common sense. In a speech replete with moralizing intonations, Obama did manage\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Libya"","block_context":{"text":"Libya","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/libya\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6138,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/libyan-intelligence-muslim-brotherhood-morsi-involved-in-u-s-consulate-attack\/","url_meta":{"origin":3424,"position":1},"title":"Libyan Intelligence: Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi Involved in U.S. Consulate Attack","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim RaymondIbrahim.com According to a Libyan intelligence document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including Egyptian President Morsi, were involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where several Americans, including U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed. On Wednesday, June 26, several Arabic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Muslim Brotherhood"","block_context":{"text":"Muslim Brotherhood","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/muslim-brotherhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6949,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/kerry-boasts-of-pluralistic-syria-once-assad-gone\/","url_meta":{"origin":3424,"position":2},"title":"Kerry Boasts of ‘Pluralistic’ Syria Once Assad Gone","author":"victorhanson","date":"January 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim \/\/\u00a0RaymondIbrahim.com\u00a0 U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, was recently\u00a0interviewed\u00a0about Syria. \u00a0While many of his assertions can be debated, one especially requires a response. Throughout the interview, he repeatedly insisted that, if Bashar Assad would only leave power, everything would go well \u2014 especially for all of Syria\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Syria"","block_context":{"text":"Syria","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/syria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/11769416185_50193bfa40-300x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2406,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/liberating-libya-for-jihadists\/","url_meta":{"origin":3424,"position":3},"title":"Liberating Libya for Jihadists","author":"victorhanson","date":"August 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce S. Thornton FrontPage Magazine The fall of Muammar Gaddafi is making some in the West giddy with the usual \u201cArab Spring\u201d wishful visions of democracy and freedom flourishing throughout the Muslim Middle East, even as the last binge of democratic intoxication, the fall of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Libya"","block_context":{"text":"Libya","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/libya\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3410,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/our-libyan-march-madness\/","url_meta":{"origin":3424,"position":4},"title":"Our Libyan March Madness","author":"victorhanson","date":"March 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online The prognosis for Libya might be better if our president cared more about it than about the NCAA. The Obama administration\u2019s Libyan strategy is a paradox \u2014 resulting from the president\u2019s belatedly announcing that Moammar Qaddafi must go, using military force against him,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Libya"","block_context":{"text":"Libya","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/libya\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":461,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/storming-embassies-killing-ambassadors-and-smart-diplomacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3424,"position":5},"title":"Storming Embassies, Killing Ambassadors, and ‘Smart’ Diplomacy","author":"victorhanson","date":"September 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online The attacks on the US embassy yesterday in Cairo and the storming of the American consulate in Libya, where the US ambassador was murdered along with three staff members \u2014 and the initial official American reaction to the mayhem \u2014 are all reprehensible,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Benghazi"","block_context":{"text":"Benghazi","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/obama-administration\/benghazi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3425,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424\/revisions\/3425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}