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At Large
Libya Burning
The rebels are taking Libya with brutal violence, racism, and internal strife. Is democracy even possible?
As troops aligned with the Libyan interim government continue to advance on the few remaining strongholds of Gaddafi loyalists — such as Bani Walid (where the tribal elders are refusing to surrender) — much debate is still raging over Libya’s future. Will the country emerge as a stable liberal democracy, will it be torn by ethnic and tribal divisions, or will it transform into an Islamist state?
Of course, there is always a degree of uncertainty in prediction here, but some signs appear to have emerged that strongly discount the first, desirable outcome. To begin with, despite the assurances of the National Transitional Council (NTC) that there will be a focus on reconciliation to avoid punishing all those associated with the Gaddafi regime and thus not repeat the “mistakes of Iraq,” it is not at all clear that these soothing words are being put into practice.
Indeed, recently concerns have been raised over the treatment of blacks residing in Libya at the hands of forces loyal to the interim government, and even outlets like the New York Times are starting to pay attention. It is true that a few of these blacks have been employed as mercenaries by Gaddafi, but the overwhelming majority are simply innocent migrant workers imported during Libya’s oil boom for construction and menial work. Yet blacks are being targeted by anti-Gaddafi insurgents as though they are all mercenaries guilty of the crimes of the Gaddafi regime.
In fact, as the Wall Street Journal noted, in one town called Tawergha, a brigade of anti-Gaddafi troops that describes itself as dedicated to “purging slaves” and “black skin” has engaged in ethnic cleansing of blacks in the town, and has vowed that in the “new Libya” all remaining blacks in Tawergha would be denied access to health care and schooling in nearby Misrata, from which all blacks have already been expelled.
Similarly, the BBC recently showed a video of hundreds of bodies found in the Abu Salim hospital in Tripoli, but failed to mention, either through genuine neglect or a deliberate intention to mislead, that most of the corpses were those of black people, who had obviously been killed by anti-Gaddafi forces when the city was taken.
The “blacks are mercenaries” myth has been useful to those wishing to downplay the idea that Gaddafi could be receiving support from any native Libyans, and portray the entire conflict as “Gaddafi vs. the people.” However, if collective punishment is the way the rebel forces are going to treat those suspected — rightly or wrongly — of links to Gaddafi’s regime, on what grounds should we presume that there will be no punitive measures implemented against native Libyan groups who have backed Gaddafi during the conflict, including many of the rural Arabized tribes of southwest Fezzan? As I predicted, the rebel forces have recently been giving the Berber Touareg in the far south this kind of harsh treatment.
Clearly, the horrific treatment of blacks is not only a result of racism but also part of an attempt to dismantle anything associated with Gaddafi’s legacy (the importation of Africans was one aspect of Gaddafi’s eccentric turn towards notions of pan-Africanism and a vision of a “United States of Africa” after 1998).
In any event, it is worth recalling that the Iraqi Shi’a politicians and public figures who pushed for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 (e.g. Ahmad Chalabi, who is the first cousin of my aunt’s husband in Baghdad) repeatedly affirmed that their sole interest was in creating a genuinely free and democratic Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Yet once in power through the interim Iraqi Governing Council, whether for reasons of ideological conviction or political expediency, they effectively turned the de-Baa’thification process into “de-Sunnification” in the hope of creating a majoritarian Shi’a democracy. This only aggravated sectarian tensions and culminated in the civil war around Baghdad in 2006.
Even so, it is also evident that there are deep tensions within the anti-Gaddafi forces. In particular, there is good reason to expect a forthcoming conflict between the Amazigh Berbers and the Islamists. The Amazigh Berbers, denied civil rights for decades by Gaddafi and forbidden to speak Tamazight, played a key role in the fighting in the western Nafusa Mountains that eventually led to the successful push towards Tripoli. Quite rightly, they are keen to assert their rights to celebrate their Berber culture and language, and will undoubtedly take further inspiration from the success of Berber activists in Morocco, which has now given Tamazight the status of an official language alongside Arabic.
Meanwhile, the Islamist presence among the anti-Gaddafi forces is now something that cannot be ignored. As Barry Rubin points out, Abdul al-Hakim al-Hasadi has just been named commander of the Tripoli Military Council. This man was formerly head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qa’ida, and although he claims to have disavowed his record of extremism, many rebel fighters around Misrata are highly suspicious of him. It does not follow from this that Libya will necessarily become an Islamist state, but as the experiences in Algeria, Sudan and Iraq show, Islamists in the Middle East and North Africa despise any assertion of a non-Arab identity and aim to suppress it by instilling terror through indiscriminate attacks.
I sincerely hope that I am proven wrong and that the post-Gaddafi government will promote liberal democracy (nor do I believe that it was wrong to stop Gaddafi’s forces from taking Benghazi back in March). Nevertheless, idealistic wishes cannot obscure hard evidence on the ground. At best, NATO can now only make it clear to the NTC that any Islamist aggression originating from Libya will be met with severe retaliation.
About the Author
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a student at Brasenose College, Oxford University. His website is http://www.aymennjawad.org.
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Michael Tomlinson| 9.8.11 @ 6:40AM
This is just another Obama mess as he turns the Arab Middle East into his version of Jimmy Carter's Iran. Don't expect anything good to come of Obama's and Democrat's failed Middle East policy. (Don't forget it was Democrat Jamie Gorelick a Clintonista who made 9/11 possible that led to our current conflicts.)
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 7:10AM
"it was Democrat Jamie Gorelick a Clintonista who made 9/11 possible that led to our current conflicts.)"
Yeah, right; and controlled demolition at WTC; and don't forget David Ferrie-- plus Guy Bannister.
Dustoff| 9.8.11 @ 10:25AM
Yeah, right; and controlled demolition at WTC;.
*********************************
I knew you were a loon.
But thanks for proving it again.
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 11:28AM
Tomlinson thinks Jamie Gorelick made 9-11 possible?? Gorelick must have supernatural powers.
Junius| 9.8.11 @ 12:58PM
Your ignorance of or denial of the role Gorelick played in creating a wall between our intelligence agencies which made 9/11 possible is reprehensible. " The truth remains hidden from those who willingly embrace deceit".
Clint| 9.8.11 @ 11:43AM
Dr.Ron Paul,
“There is no doubt that Moammar Gadhafi is a bad guy, and that he has brought harm and misery to his country. However, our involvement in another country’s civil war is costly and unconstitutional.
“We have spent over $1 billion on a war that this administration has fought not with the consent of Congress but under a NATO flag and authorization from the United Nations."
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 7:07AM
At least with the rebels there's a chance for Libya; with Gaddhafi there is no future.
Harry the Horrible| 9.8.11 @ 8:23AM
Right. There is a chance for Al Qaeda and the Caliphate.
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 10:34AM
YOU said it, I didn't.
Occam's Tool| 9.8.11 @ 5:06PM
Indeed, Harry. An Islamist future for Libya is in the bag. Youthful population plus cultural dynamism=Islamist.
RCV| 9.12.11 @ 4:46PM
The demise of any tyrant who blew up Americans on a passenger airliner and bombed our soldiers in Germany is a thing to celebrate in my book.
POST American| 9.8.11 @ 7:33AM
"WE are using MASSIVE third world
immigration (largely muslim) to DESTROY
British culture beyond repair, once and for
all ---FOREVER."
-Fmr PM TONY BLAIR
(Daiy Mail interview)
----AND as London, and Britain burn
------AND while Globalist collapsed Mexico
now has an annual dope war death toll
that now exceeds Viet Nam
----------UH--------Libya ain't the ONLY place
with problems.
KEEP following that CFR/RIIA crowd kiddies!
KEEP pumping Globalism,
USURY and EUGENICS as
your 'guiding principles'.
----------Keep a goin'
AMNESTY for ILLEGALS
-N'-
FUKISHIMA FALLOUT
------------------------JUST KEEP A GOIN'
albert constantine jr.| 9.8.11 @ 8:50AM
Why do I picture Dennis Hopper in his role as the 'harlequin' photojournalist in "Apocalypse Now" every time I read these posts?
Tim B | 9.8.11 @ 3:34PM
Tony Blair didn't say that, silly.
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 4:10PM
Gaddhafi did say he would show his opponents no mercy, he called them greasy rats, drug fueled mice, and cockroaches. Now is his time to leave the picture.
Bobby Spencer| 9.8.11 @ 7:37AM
Dear Mr Jawad Al-Tamimi,
Why do you consider it relevant that Ahmad Chalabi"is the first cousin of my aunt's husband in Baghdad"? This narcissisim and self-adulation undermines much of your argument and makes you seem slightly ridiculous.
Yours sincerely,
Starch Mohican Bobby Spencer
Occam's Tool| 9.8.11 @ 5:07PM
Bobby--
Arab culture is highly tribal, NOT national. Family line is MUCH more important than Libyan nationality. Al Adab is, as usual, correct.
Al Adab| 9.8.11 @ 2:08PM
Apparently brother, Mr. Spencer fails to understand the importance of family lines in non-western cultures. There is a reason the Quran and Bible list the lineages so carefully.
dnha14| 9.8.11 @ 8:47AM
Same horrible place, different idiots in charge. The more things change the more they stay the same.
albert constantine jr.| 9.8.11 @ 8:52AM
Perhaps the Who should have sung "We WILL Get Fooled Again" instead.
Von Mises Jr.| 9.8.11 @ 9:47AM
Barry Rubin wrote a damning indictment of Obama and the Progressives on PJ Media. He draws a clear strategy of our Democrat Party aiding Al Qeada and the Muslimi Brotherhood in Libya and Egypt, and ignoring anti-Islamist forces in Iran and Syria. There is no mistaking the foreign policy strategy.
This is inconvenient since Libya shows that Obama supports the Islamist forces and the genocide of blacks is unimportant. Especially ironic since this was sold as a humanitarian police action.
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 11:26AM
"Libya shows that Obama supports the Islamist forces"
Then why did he have bin Laden offed?
Simon Templar| 9.8.11 @ 4:26PM
He had no choice, the operation had been going on for years and he was sitting there when they finally had bin Laden in their gun sights. He had a decision to make, pull the trigger or not. Alan, what do you think would have happen politically if he said, "no go."
RCV| 9.9.11 @ 12:47AM
Garbage. Read the detailed history of Obama's refocus on the capture and killing of Bin Laden from the moment he assumed the Presidency. That focus had been entirely lost as Bush got bogged down inIraq. Your unwillingness to give credit when it is due is telling about your lack of intellectual honesty.
Simon Templar| 9.10.11 @ 10:33AM
Look at the 1o years of work of that led up to the operation and all that was put in place to make it successful which your poser would HAVE NEVER ordered. FACT.
I give him a lot of credit for keeping that policy and all the other policies of Bush on the war on terror in place, the same ones that he vigorously campaigned against. FACT
Furthermore, I give even greater credit to the men and women who actually fight these wars and much less to the who ever is in office at the time. FACT.
You are the last person on this blog that should be talking about intellectual honesty.
RCV| 9.12.11 @ 4:49PM
The brave soldiers who carried out this operation got their orders at the last minute. The painstaking work of tracking down Bin Laden was performed by a reinvigorated CIA under the direction of Leon Panetta, who with the Presidentis active involvement, plotted this successful effort to hunt down and kill Bin Laden, whose trail had grown cold. Read the detailed accounts, Simon, if you have any interest in truth that doesn't fit your preconceived political stories.
Timothy L. Pennell| 9.8.11 @ 10:06AM
There's no debate. It will be an ISLAMIC Sharia Law Country. Same as Egypt. And this President had a hand in both of them.
But, then, that's why HAMAS believes that he was sent by Allah. That, he is their DELIVERER.
It's time to start reading the Tea Leaves. it's time to start BELIEVING what you read, and see, and hear.
Barack Hussein Obama aka Barry Soetoro aka Abu Hussain, is NOT one of us. He's one of THEM.
HE is the one they've been waiting for.
Not you.
Wake up.
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 11:24AM
You're paranoid, Pennell.
Simon Templar| 9.8.11 @ 2:05PM
Alan, you are willfully delusional.
Reality and facts really do not matter, do they?
Alan Brooks| 9.8.11 @ 4:07PM
Israel is in danger-- but it has always been in danger.
Simon Templar| 9.8.11 @ 4:20PM
Yes, it will be in more danger if this government continues to promote Arab springs and turn these countries over to theocracies that your liberal friends hate so much when you step all over our first ammendment rights here in this country but do not seem too concerned when it really happens in the middle east.
Occam's Tool| 9.8.11 @ 5:08PM
Tim, I agree with you. Again. Will you say something nice about me now?
Timothy L. Pennell| 9.9.11 @ 8:31AM
I already said that I'm a fan. And I know that when you agree with the things I've written, then I've hit the mark.
Trust me.
PattyMor| 9.8.11 @ 12:17PM
Well you know that the result was not going to be good when the Administration and others refused to name just who the rebels represented. So they hid the Islamist revolution behind the glories of freedom and democracy. So are you surprised they're killing the black Africans? Black Africans are being killed all over Africa by Muslims.
Simon Templar| 9.8.11 @ 2:08PM
Oh my! I am shocked, just plain shocked. I thought this was a democratic revolution for the proposition that all men were created equal and have inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. My gosh, jimminy crickets, no one saw this coming. How can it be?
Al Adab| 9.8.11 @ 2:16PM
My brother Al-Tamimi presents a good analysis of both events and contingencies for western consideration in Libya. Dictatorships, while not preferred, nonetheless provide a measure of stability in many areas of the world where traditions of freedom, liberty, and representative systems do not exist. Whenever and wherever they are overthrown the dangers pointed out arise. What becomes of Libya is only of concern to The West should it choose to pursue an even more warlike posture internationally. How it chooses to order its internal affairs is of little consequence. It is naive of The West to believe that democratic, free institutions can be established in cultures (Such as Islamic ones) where historical imperatives are otherwise. That is the error with the concept of "nation building".
Simon Templar| 9.8.11 @ 4:16PM
Yes, you get new dictatorships worse than the old ones.
IzeHavitt| 9.9.11 @ 12:05AM
One can only agree. Look at the differences between the colonial American experiences and that of , say, Iraq or Afghanistan. There are many. But perhaps the most significant difference- with all due respect to our Islamist posters here- is that the former had The Bible as their fundamental source of reference, while the latter have the Koran. Which one encourages it's followers aspirations, and which one limits them?
Al Adab| 9.9.11 @ 1:58PM
IzeHavitt ( LOL):
In hope that you will see this allow me to point out that Christianity (and as a result, Western Civilization) posits the worth and rights of the individual as against the demands of the collective or the community. Liberty exists only in the west and a small number of nations which have adopted those values. That, the primacy of the individual, is the reason The Left, as centralizers and adherents of group identity, so deride the values of Western Civ to the extent of removing it from our educational curriculum.
Simon Templar| 9.10.11 @ 10:38AM
Al, you are a very sharp person. Not many can get to that depth of insight. Excellent observation and point.
Dixie Pixie| 9.8.11 @ 3:11PM
Let me get this straight, Obama wages an illegal war to overthrow an internationally recognized legitimate Libyan government to prevent a bloody massacre and now the US / Nato backed Rebels are massacring the Blacks in the well known genocidal manner of Arab Racism!
Was there any part of Obama's Libyan War that was not a complete and utter lie?
Al Adab| 9.8.11 @ 3:16PM
Was there? No.
Simon Templar| 9.8.11 @ 4:15PM
Yeah, then let us add the Afghanistans to the equation. Apparently, 80 percent of them do not even know 9-11 happened and have given up on the coalition.
Given up on the coalition? This is why these occupations are ridiculously stupid. A people can not be free unless they want it so badly they will die for it and not expect someone else to bring it to them on a silver platter. Good. Get the hell out of there and leave them to themselves and the Taliban.
By the way, we had every right to strike them as they attacked us and it was worth every penny to destroy the Taliban and their terror training camps. We should have left soon after.
RCV| 9.12.11 @ 4:51PM
...real smart. And left Bin Laden unlmolested to plot new attacks.
Occam's Tool| 9.8.11 @ 5:09PM
Simon, leave Afghanistan AFTER appropriate sterilization. Lessons must be taught.
Al Adab| 9.8.11 @ 5:39PM
Simaon, Occam:
The concept of the Nation State is a purely Western idea. That is has been transplanted, more or less successfully in many areas of the world does not mean it is of value in all. Central Asia is one example of a "fluid" area where boundries and "national lines" simply do not exist by virtue of the tribal cultures in the area. It is naive to believe that such Western concepts can be imposed on other cultures which do not have the historical background of The West and frankly, it is foolish to try. Such areas can be administered for a time, but cannot be remade into Western models.
RCV| 9.9.11 @ 12:50AM
Well analyzed and on point, Al Adab. As many have put it, the region is really "Tribes With Flags" not nation-states.
Simon Templar| 9.10.11 @ 10:57AM
Yes, you are correct. I am very aware of the factors you mentioned including the tribalistic nature of these societies. I also believe a society can not be ready for sweeping change even if it is not tribalistic or sectarian or whatever when it has lived under two generations of total brutal dictatorship like that of Iraq.
This is why I was shouting at the TV in the first three weeks of the Iraq invasion while I watched the same old bullshit about how these people were ripe for democracy and they were letting combatants go with 40 dollars, a lunch, and a T-shirt! This is why it is so critically important that we know what and who we are dealing with before we embark on these involvements. Let alone the models we suggest to or impose on these people develop to govern themselves.
One thing is clear, on the other hand, that really is seperate from whatever type of society it is and that is the desire to be free from terror, brutality, and totalitarianism. This is a basic human desire. It must be present if there is any hope for freedom and stability in whatever political or government shape that society decides to take.
If these people lack the basic understanding that life would be better under the coalition or any other arrangement of their own making than it was under the Taliban, then we need to get out of there in a hurry.
No, I was not aguing for our model of democarcy to be applied or ever had any expectations that it would take hold, particularly overnight.
POST American| 9.8.11 @ 10:54PM
----------------------FINAL WORD---------------------
-----UH ---TONY BLAIR --DID-- say that silly,
via his Home Secretary JACK STRAW.
And who dares DENY the FACTS on the
ground of burning Britain?
In short, Blair, Straw and Brown are guilty of
cultural genocide against their own people.
Oh, and BTW, don't fall into the Tavistock
trap of thinking this is a 'liberal' illness.
The MASS immigration boom, along with lavish
offers of welfare, was kicked off by that
other RIIA/CFR front ---MAGGIE THATCHER.
You see, NOT UNTIL you're ready to overcome
your cowardice, and REAL-EYES what's at work
will this hideous mess even begin to turn around.
These people are committed to the tenets of
Globalist Social Darwinism upheld by biz nihilism
for their oppurtunist punk operatives.
AND FINALLY, while Fukishima burns, and
will continue to do so, spewing fallout into the
CHEM-trails of North America ---for another decade, as, on site, the three greatest militaries
in the world stand down ---------and as
GE's Jeff I-Melt-down walks FREE
--------------HUAC meets NUREMBERG------------
------------------with all possible speed-----------------
Richard Baker| 9.11.11 @ 5:36PM
Arabs and their Farsi friends are incapable of democracy or any other form of "government" except for tribal hatreds and blood feuds. To think that people who follow a religion which demands a theocracy and believe they are capable of a democracy is to believe in the Easter bunny.
Ramy_Al Hinshiry| 11.9.11 @ 9:44AM
I think you got it all wrong. Visit Libya and you will find it completely different in reality than what reported in the media. you seem to be having a problem defining for . Let me start by saying that there is no Abu Salim hospital mentioned in your article.