Why We Won The War In Libya: Gaddafi Had Neither Soldiers Nor Power
HOW did we win the war in Libya? Oh, yes, it was us – the West Wot Won It. Or was it the rebels? Or was Gaddafi defeated because – get this – there was nothing to defeat? His regime was knackered.
Bernard-Henri Lévy tells the Daily Beast:
But either the news of the arrival of foreigners travels fast, or the excitement of the chebabs escorting us, who are also shooting bi-tube rounds in our honor, attracts attention; people start flooding into the square, more and more of them, brandishing their weapons toward the sky and joining in the scene. I improvise a few words: “A great day…the beauty of the liberation of a city by its own…images of the liberation of Paris…Libya in your hands…no exactions, nor vengeance….”
The young people cry “Allah Akbar”—I reply, “Libya Hora.”
They cheer for France, I salute the Libyan spring…
In the same organ, John Barry assures us that America won it:
The U.S. military has spent about $1 billion so far and played a far larger role inLibya than it has acknowledged, quietly implementing an emerging “covert intervention” strategy that the Obama administration hopes will let America fight small wars with a barely detectable footprint.
It was Nato – yep, Nato plotted the entire thing:
British and Nato military commanders are planning what they hope will be a final onslaught on Colonel Gaddafi’s forces to put an end to all resistance from troops loyal to the Libyan leader.
One thing for certain, it wasn’t the Germans. As Liam Fox told us:
“Far too many of our European partners are still trying to get a free ride and they should regard Libya as a wake-up call.”
It was human intervention, says David Owen:
During the darkest moments of Nato’s campaign in Libya, it was suggested that its sluggish progress represented the death knell for the doctrine of humanitarian intervention – that a West chastened by its experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan and enfeebled by debt lacked the money, the morale and the military resources to take action against those who broke international law. Now that the rebels have swept into Tripoli, the opposite argument is being made – that their success represents a vindication of the Nato strategy, and provides a template for the toppling of despots in Syria and elsewhere.
But hold on a moment… was it Gaddafis own regime that disintegrated? The BBC reports:
As Tripoli was surrounded from three sides – east, south and west – government forces precipitously collapsed. What at first might have been mistaken for a tactical withdrawal into urban areas, emerged more clearly as the disintegration of the government’s most feared fighting units. The vaunted Khamis Brigade – commanded by a son of Col Gaddafi – saw its barracks raided with impunity. Rebel convoys punched deep into Tripoli, meeting virtually no resistance.
Shashank Joshi gives three – yep, just three – reasons why the elite fighres weren’t fighting:
1. They retreated.
2. They put down their arms in the face of rebels who veer between looking like extras from Mad Max films and badly dressed and equipped young men with little else to do:
A remarkable amphibious assault on Tripoli demonstrated the extent of planning that underlay rebel operations, both in and outside of Tripoli, in recent days.
3. Nato bombs
But those elite forces – who were they?
Witnesses in Libya and many others are saying that the country’s leader, Moammar Gadhafi, has unleashed an army of “mercenaries from Africa” who have been shooting pro-democracy protesters indiscriminately.
Got that? Gaddafi had such power and command in Libya that he was forced to hire fighters from other countries to fight his civil war.
Now, of course, the business starts. All the groups who managed to find a common goal working out what to do next. And the rebels are one unified group…not:
The military commander of the Libyan rebels fighting to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed, the rebel National Transitional Council says. NTC head Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Gen Abdel Fattah Younes was killed by assailants, and the head of the group responsible had been arrested. He said Gen Younes was summoned for questioning about military operations, but never made it to the meeting. Reports said Gen Younes was suspected of ties to pro-Gaddafi forces.
So. The West is going to re-colonise Libya? They might – but like the rebels, no-one in Nato can work who’s in charge…
Posted: 30th, August 2011 | In: Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
