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Libyan
Victory is an American Victory
By David
Dienstag
Published 08/27/11
Jezail salutes and congratulates
the Libyan people on this historic victory of and for all Libyans
for toppling the Khadafi regime. It has been a bloody fight and
it is still not entirely over but the final outcome has been
determined. The future of Libya is in the hands of its people
and not the tyrant. It has been a successful revolution and insurgency.
We also congratulate the White House for courageously making
the right decisions in the face of considerable pressure and
momentum to do otherwise. Not too long ago, some in Congress
were talking about impeachment.
Jezail has never been afraid
to criticize this administration. We differ sharply over counter
insurgent policies in the "AfPak" theater and the implementation
of "COIN" in particular. However, as more information
becomes available, we are increasingly impressed with the Obama
White House choices and decisions in the conduct of the Libyan
revolution. It is a breath of fresh air to be on the right side
of history for a change. This time we chose not to side with
a dictator and actually helped get rid of him. This time we helped
a people liberate themselves. This time we really had motivated
allies. This time our involvement was limited with a backdoor
to pull out.
We are also much impressed
that our European allies are most responsible for the outcome.
Their participation in this is a very good sign. It remains to
be seen who actually designed the support mechanism for the insurgency.
Whoever he or she or they may be, they have friends at Jezail.
We hope to see this kind of support elsewhere.
This is what we have passionately
advocated for years. Ground up revolutionary movement support
is a tool that has, until now, been vigorously opposed by American
foreign policy stewards. In the space of six months America has
realized a foreign policy victory in Libya. It has cost the American
tax payer relatively little in money and there has been no American
blood shed. Contrast that to the idiot leviathan that proponents
of "COIN" have been wallowing in for a decade. That
is why we believe this is an important moment for America as
well as Libya.
There are challenges ahead
for both Libyans and the West. But it appears that lessons have
been learned from Iraq. For Libyans, perhaps the harder tasks
lay ahead. They have to build a civil society and institutions
after forty years of dictatorship. That will not be so easy as
old habits die hard. We wish them all the best. The establishment
of civil security in the short term will be daunting.
Unlike Egypt, this revolution
did not hand off power to the Army. A great many people have
weapons. The revolution has no pretense of "non-violence"
against the regime. The economy and infrastructure are in ruins
and likely to take months, if not years to restore. We hope that
the U.S. and the West provide timely positive assistance. Other
despotic regimes are watching this carefully as well. How they
behave toward their people will be influenced by events in Libya.
We very much doubt that Mr. Assad sleeps well these days. The
"germs" (Mr. Assad's term for demonstrators) of Syria
salute the "greasy rats" (Mr. Khadafi's term) of Libya
and derive strength from this revolution. Jezail wonders when,
not if, Syrian demonstrators will become combatants.
In any case, what is happening
in Libya may well provide some templates for future regional
conflict. As the Syrian "non-violent" protesters continue
to be punished by Assad's troops, to date, they provide a contrast
to the Libyan resistance which embraced all-out war and openly
called for foreign help early on.
How realistic a Gandhi-like
approach is in the face of brutal dictatorships is no longer
a matter of idle speculation. The Syrian demonstrators are neither
calling for Western help or talking about establishing a caliphate.
Jezail spoke with Ausama Monajed at the Middle East Institute
as he was speaking as a de facto voice for the Syrian demonstrators.
He made a somewhat emphatic point of describing the demonstrators
as "non-violent", prepared to face the regime's guns
with chanting, demonstrations and flash mobbing. We asked: "In
the face of an entrenched monster like Assad, how much longer
will the 'non-violent' approach have utility?"
"That", he said,"is
the million dollar question."
At the same time, Mr. Zawahiri
cannot be happy. The Libyan revolution does not appear to embrace
his harsh vision. While not abandoning their Islamic identity,
Libyans seem to be interested in democracy and normal relations
with the West. That is antithetical to core Al Qaeda values and
they are not likely to be idle about this setback. We expect
Al Qaeda to introduce a counter narrative to the Libyan people
first.
They will point to the darker
sides of capitalism and colonial history. Count on it. But there
will be no foreign armies to fight in Libya. We believe that
initial propaganda efforts of Al Qaeda will fail and they will
come to regard Libya as a foe.
Jezail fervently hopes that
Americans embrace support for freedom and resistance movements
as a result of the Libyan successes. It appears that President
Obama has set forth a new doctrine. Freedom and resistance movement
support is a policy option that has for too long remained unused
and the Obama Administration has made an important, historic
and positive contribution to American foreign policy.
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