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Editorial
Lessons from the demise of Gadhafi
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The removal of Moammar Gadhafi from power in Libya provides us with two lessons. First, global powers set the rules of the game, determining what the countries of the rest of the world can do. Second, people will eventually rebel and overthrow repressive governments.
However, these two eventualities are sometimes in conflict.
The West has dominated world affairs for the last 400 years. This domination has not been seriously challenged except during the Cold War.
Since the implosion of the Soviet Union, the globe consists of the West and the rest of the world. With the exceptions of Russia and China, the countries of the rest of the world generally have to give obeisance to the West in varying degrees. This deference is pragmatism because they know that there are influential voices in the West that hold firm to the view that "you are either with us or you are against us" and a government/leader who defies the West will be punished sooner or later.
Whether compliance with the "rules" takes the form of active subservience or passive acquiescence there is no reward for good behaviour, because this is expected. If, in addition to conformity to the rules, a country is of strategic importance, the West will most often grant a leader/government a dispensation from the standards of democracy and human rights.
The oppressive dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile and the undemocratic rule in Saudi Arabia come easily to mind as examples of this accommodation.
The leadership of the countries of the rest of the world know from the study of history that if you are not with the West punishment is certain, and it can be slow and particularly painful, taking such forms as an economic embargo, or sanctions, or, at the other end of the continuum of punitive actions, regime change by direct military action.
There are, of course, some leaders and governments who have taken the risk of defying the West and have survived punishment. In those cases, they are the benefactors of China or Russia who exercise a countervailing influence, ensuring that ultimate force is not used against them.
In some instances, the West is split on whether or how the so-called defiant countries will be punished, eg the difference between the US and the European Union on relations with Cuba.
Indeed, there are a few leaders who have been able to defy the West because they produce oil. Gadhafi was one such leader who ruled his country with an iron fist for 42 years.
Last week, he met his end. And while we would have preferred to see him taken before the International Criminal Court, we can't say that we will shed a tear for his demise.
His anti-West pronouncements, suppression of democracy and human rights and his involvement in terrorism provoked violent opposition and provided the justification for intervention by the West in support of that opposition.
The unavoidable fact is that the West did not feel comfortable with part of its scarce oil supply under the control of a leader who flaunted the rules of the game. Ironically, Gadhafi both survived and was removed because of oil.
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11/1/2011
Oil can never be the only factor in the removal of Gadhafi. He was by all means as ruthless a leader as there could be. The time was right for his removal which was precipitated by the actions of the people who were fed up with his brazen disregard of their rights. To reduce the suffering caused by Gadhafi as due to oil needed by the west is to trivialize the wicked things he had done for 42 years.
10/23/2011
NATO did not overthrow Colonel Al Gadhafi.
The UN Resolution 1973 back by the many countries worldwide authorized NATO to take actions to protect civilians. That mandate was prosecuted the fullest.
If Colonel Al Gadhafi lived and reigned over Libya today Libya would sell oil, the new Libyan rulers will sell oil, in the foreseeable future Libya will sell oil. It does not matter who rule, Libya is about oil, it all they have right now!
10/23/2011
America is poisoning the world with paranoia. America’s history of paranoia goes all the way to the 17th century Salem witch hunting. In later years African Americans would be the ones to bear the brunt of their sick twisted homicidal, paranoiac minds.
Why, if not totalitarianism, driven by paranoia would America take on the responsibility to have some 700 military bases around the world?
"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains." - Jean Jacques Rousseau
10/23/2011
All countries, including the West, will move to eliminate threats when the probability of success is high relative to the risk. Citizens will rebel for the same reason. Thus, Gaddafi's overthrow was more about the threat he continued to represent and his falling popular support (the Arab Spring) than it was about Libya's oil reserves (which have remained constant). Similarly, Cuba remains a dictatorship because the country is no longer seen as a threat; it is a don't care.
10/23/2011
At the time of Gaddafi’s death he was on a mission to unite Africa’s economic systems.
Gaddafi realized that the key to Libya’s future was water and so he set out on a mission to build the largest water project in the world at a cost of about US$25B without any financial input from Anglo-America financial system. 80 percent of this water was to be used for farming. Libya had started on the road to self-sufficiency and this was seen as an insult to the dark criminal forces in NATO.
10/23/2011
The Observer editorial writers put out some of the strangest, weirdest editorials. They could take a lesson from their counterpart in this regard. Now that they have come full circle we have stopped hearing this stupidity about about PNP bias. I and people who know the Gleaner laughed our heads off at this categorization
Now that they have partly achieved their goals, we will soon stop hearing about the political gangs.
What a twisted place we live in.
10/23/2011
@ David Armstrong : I concur. All "Dictators" who fall under the U.S doctrine of Spheres of Influence are at risk, particularly those that are perceived to be a security threat to its Allies and Friends. In recent years, the greatest growth involves intelligence gathering, with the U.S military flying manned aircraft and Drones around the Globe unabated. This has rendered "Sovereignty" obsolete. All potential dictators and narco-terrorists must be exposed, or sorted out.
10/23/2011
I concur. Pointed and accurate !
In addition, this individual in an attempt to maintain a tight grip on power destroyed all institutions that might have challenged him. With his purge, there was no Parliament, no unified military command, no political parties, no unions, no civil society and no NGO's. Only the State oil company remained which was run like a family business. The fact is, his own people started the revolution !
10/23/2011
What a joke. "the people" did not overthrow the Gaddafi regime. NATO did.
10/23/2011
Dictatorships were tolerated during the cold war when they were not threatening to destabilize the system. With the advent of the Internet, young people are starting to realize what their lives can be like and what freedom is about. Yes, there is a UN security council, a G8, and secret services. None of these pose a threat to leaders who are making an honest attempt to serve their citizens. The challenge is to overcome the aftermath of colonialism in a way that is fair to everyone.
10/23/2011
Yes global powers set the rules of the game and they make changes to these rules when it is in their interest to do so. The concept of sovereignty that protects countries from outside interference is no longer honored. The message to dictators then who run amok with these global powers is that you can be taken out quite easily and the rest of the world cannot do a thing about it.
10/23/2011
Libya was one of the few if not the only African Nation without a debt to the West. Now that NATOn warplanes have destroyed most of the country's infrastructure the west will move in to lend money and "expertise" to "help"
rebuild the country.
10/23/2011
As you and your distasteful cartoons continued to support a govt that sold it's citizens to support a gun runner and narco trafficker - are you not mindful that you may fall into destruction like Sirte? You should strive to be professional and keep your personal sentiments and biases from what you try and pass as a national newspaper.
10/23/2011
You are completely mistaken. It is not western policy that is driving the world. It is market forces. It is the group think exercised by humanity who has the freedom that is afforded by western democracy. If a leader defies the will of the people and pursues policies that destabilizes the economy he will be punished by the market. There is a formula for winning. Competition, modern science, the rule of law and private property rights, modern medicine, the consumer society and the work ethic.
10/23/2011
Mr Editor, Gadhafi's countrymen may have rebelled but they didn't overthrow him. The bald fact is that he was overthrown by NATO acting on behalf of the French and British Govts. And he was overthrown for being anti-West only because , as you well know, the other reasons can be equally applied to the US, France and Britain.
Actually @0o k, the rebels were losing, and losing badly, until NATO interfered. They didn't want their support to be this open but had no choice when Gadhafi began..cont.
10/23/2011
With or without Global intervention the Libya Rebels would have given their blood and blood of their family, friends and relatives to remove Colonel Al Gadhafi.
There comes a time when the people cannot take no more.
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