US Rethinks Strategy: War as Opportunity in Libya (Ramzy Baroud)

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Ramzy Baroud -- World News Trust

Apr. 27, 2011 -- The brutality of Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi, and his refusal to concede power, is costing Libya much more than innocent lives.

The country is now also facing a possible loss of future independence and sovereignty. From its early days, the Libyan revolt seemed to take a difference course than those of other Arab countries. It represented a window of opportunity for the United States and its western allies to reposition themselves, slowly but surely, around a conflict that promised grueling and bloodier times ahead.

A visit by Republican Senator John McCain to Benghazi Apr. 22 was described by a CNN online report as “a major morale boast” for the Libyan rebels. His arrival followed a U.S. decision to deploy predator drones to Libya, thus promising a greater American role in the war. According to McCain, drones are not enough, and more will be needed to break the “significant degree of stalemate.” He described Benghazi as a “powerful and hopeful example of what a free Libya can be.”

A small crowd chanted as the U.S. senator met with members of the Transitional National Council: “Thank you John McCain! Thank you Obama.... Thank you America! We need freedom! Gadhafi go away,” according to the same report.

This decidedly American push has already inspired many neoconservative ideologues who unfailingly endorse war against any Arab or Muslim country that fail to tow their line. A major hub for U.S. intervention -- most often in support of Israeli interests -- is the American Enterprise Institute, credited for introducing many suspicious characters to Iraq following the ousting of Saddam Hussein. AEI scholar Michael Rubin said that the visit by McCain “brings more limelight to the rebels.” But Rubin wants even more than this. “If McCain can meet the people for whom we are fighting, why not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Why not Vice President Joe Biden?”

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