My take on the current situation in Libya.

The Gaddafi regime is crumbling and the situation in Libya is moving rapidly. With Gaddafi all but gone the question remains of what comes next? Libya has no governmental institutions, the national army is fragmented and defeated and the rebels while brave and committed to Gaddafi's defeat, are neither organized or professional. Frankly they are a volunteer army with more dividing  than unifying them. There is a major risk of factional violence once the dust has settled in the war to remove Gaddafi. Add to that the major tasks of rebuilding a nation devastated by war for the  last six months, creating a government and creating public services the Libyans have some major challenges ahead. I do hear the Transitional National Council has stated they will not disband the army or police forces and they want no reprisal actions once the war is over. While that is a wonderful sentiment I hope it will be shared by most as war tends to bring out the best and worst in people, with the worst often outweighing the best by a significant margin.

The other concern I have at the moment is the huge stockpile of  weapons of mass destruction in Libya. A bit of a lukewarm term these days after the WMD boondoggle in Iraq, however Gaddafi actually HAS a huge inventory of WMD's in the form of Mustard/Blister agent, and the makings for Sarin gas. I am not clear on the details of his nuclear program but I believe he shut it down in 2003-2004. He decided to play "nice" after we invaded Iraq, a pleasant surprise from him. The rebels have neither the expertise or wherewithal to properly handle these types of weapons which need to be secured soon, and by people with the proper training/technical expertise. These types of weapons obviously are a serious danger if in the wrong hands whether they be terrorists or just untrained/unqualified people. Additionally according to the head of the Senate Intelligence Committeee, there are thousands of advanced shoulder fired anti air-missiles in the Libyan Army inventory. Something else that is a concern if made accessible to the wrong people. Just imagine what an Al Qaeda cell could do with access to even some of these weapons.

The Transitional National Council which is now recognized as the legitimate Libyan Government appears to have the best of intentions for the Libyan people and for both the short and long term goals of the nation. It remains to be seen how well the rebel forces will follow the TNC once the unifying factor of eliminating Gaddafi is eliminated. It is my hope that the country of Libya will see less violence and pull together under a true representational government. As my Arab friends would say "Insha'alla."

Libyan Civil War

The Presidential Guard  has supposedly surrendered to rebel forces in Tripoli! If this is true Gadhafi likely has only days or hours before it is all over!

Libyan Civil War

It appears that after several months the end may be insight to the Libyan Civil War. I personally hop that the war ends soon and that the people of Libya are able to form a new and better government. One that both encompasses the will of the Libyan people and allows for true enfranchisement in their own political system. Simply a representative government that will be fair and impartial...at least as much as is possible.

Introduction

In the interest of sparing my friends and family from my Geo-political commentary I have decided to create this blog so as to discuss my interests in this sphere. Primarily I will be posting about International relations between the countries of the Middle East/North Africa, and between those countries, and the U.S. and the Western nations in general. Additionally issues pertaining to Islamophobia and other bias-related matters will be included. I am happy to read intelligent comments on any of these topics or any of my posts.