subject: Will Al-qaeda Establish A Stronghold In Libya? [print this page] Now that Libya has been declared to be liberated the big question is, what the new government need to do in order to be recognized in the world community and to get set up as an operational entity. The new government is inexperienced in the international community so they need to get savy in the political part of running a government.
Now that Gadhafi has been killed the question is how will the government respond to its mandate to lead the people of Libya? Will it resort to the same tactics that he used to maintain control or will it embrace change and operate as a non repressive government. My guess is that a lot of what they learned under Gadhafi will remain. I believe that it will be difficult to get them to operate the way that most Western governments do. The only way to get them to operate as a non repressive regime is to give them a heavy hand of example. It can be done but there is no doubt that it will be very difficult.
Right now is a very dangerous time because there is a power vacuum. The new government has not been established yet and there are many who want to be in control. Most of them have a viable position and a good chance but the US State Department needs to be sure the right man is elected so that our interests will be best served.
The next big question is how much of a role that al-Qaeda will have in the new government? They do have a man who is in a good position and the US should consider him to be a viable threat. Abdul Hakim Belhadj was al-Qaedas undercover man in Libya during the last years of the Gadhafi regime. I used the word undercover but a better description would be underground. He worked to hinder the Gadhafi government and reverse its policies while being careful to stay in a position where he could avoid retaliation. He doesnt have to hide now and is in a prominent position in the new government. He is in the right place at the right time to occupy a position of leadership in the government if not to become Libyas next president. This should be a scary thought for our State Department and I hope that they are taking some type of action to prevent it.
Islamic Clerics are probably in a better position to make a power grab because of the influence that they have always had. If they do the result probably wont be good for the United States. There are not many Islamic Clerics that I have heard about that will do anything good for the United States, let alone attempt to have favorable relations.
Our State Department needs to offer help and maybe financial aid to the new government in order to get on favorable footing with them because a good relationship with them may avoid a lot of future trouble. They also have a lot of oil that we can use. A good relationship with them will be a positive step in the right direction.
The experience with the conflict in Libya was also a good event for NATO. The US refused to take the lead in the situation which forced NATO to have to handle the situation. Things were rough at first but eventually NATO forces won out and the situation was put to rest and culminated with the death of Moammar Gadhafi and the overthrow of the Libyan regime.
The new Libyan government now has to rise to the challenge of setting up the infrastructure and gaining and maintaining control of the newly liberated country. Military Ring Express.com
