The Challenge
To write a post that
accurately expresses how I feel about the situation in Libya without a)
getting angry b) getting emotional c) downplaying the fact that the
last footage broadcast by Libyan State TV of Gaddafi playing chess totally drove
me over the wall. Seriously, Gaddafi?
The
Facts
On
the "evilness" scale, I’ve always ranked Gaddafi somewhere between
Hitler and animals that eat their own children. My opinion of him has been
significantly altered after the Feb 17 uprising as I believe there is no scale
that could measure how evil he is or how brutal and murderous his tactics
are. For 42 years he has costed Libya
and the Libyan people dearly, now more than ever.
It’s been four months every since Feb 17, four months. I don’t even want to get into how many innocent men, women and children have been killed, murdered, kidnapped, tortured, and raped, or how many Libyans have been forced to leave their homes to camp at safer locations or how much humanitarian aid is required in certain areas of our country. It’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening in Libya, it weighs on me and that is why I’m trying to focus on the positive. The brighter side of all this is that we will (soon, inshallah) be free of Gaddafi and his family. Change for the better requires effort and sacrifices and Libya is going through that process right now for a better Libya.
My thoughts and prayers for Libya and our brave people who against all odds, have held out against Gaddafi forces.
It’s been four months every since Feb 17, four months. I don’t even want to get into how many innocent men, women and children have been killed, murdered, kidnapped, tortured, and raped, or how many Libyans have been forced to leave their homes to camp at safer locations or how much humanitarian aid is required in certain areas of our country. It’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening in Libya, it weighs on me and that is why I’m trying to focus on the positive. The brighter side of all this is that we will (soon, inshallah) be free of Gaddafi and his family. Change for the better requires effort and sacrifices and Libya is going through that process right now for a better Libya.
My thoughts and prayers for Libya and our brave people who against all odds, have held out against Gaddafi forces.
This flag is used in order to reject the Green Flag imposed by Gaddafi. This is the original Libyan flag that was adopted after Libya won independence from Italy. 
16 comments:
Hello Lebeeya. Greetings from Australia. Can you please outline what help you would like to see from the rest of the world to end the Gaddafi regime so that you can have your freedom? And don't just say "put pressure on Gaddafi", as that is already being done by NATO airstrikes. Do you want ground troops?
The first step would be for the world (starting with the USA) to recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC), before we even think of ground troops, Gaddafi has to completely lose his legitimacy and then the real hunt down could begin. We also need from the countries that have froze Gaddafi's assets to transfer the money to the NTC for better resources.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Transitional_Council the council is recognized by UK and France as the sole representative already. But like you said, you want the US to follow suit. The same link also says "U.S is investigating transferring Gaddafi's frozen assets to the rebels". But investigating doesn't mean it has happened yet.
It's a funny thing when you mention legitimacy. All the dictators of the world are recognized because of their ability to control the security forces - not because anyone likes them. At this point in time, Gaddafi's forces are still stronger than the rebels. When Libya is free, I fully expect the Libyan government to recognize Assad if he is still in power too. They won't shun him for being a dictator.
Anyway, what you have asked for is perfectly reasonable. I'm just wondering what the best way to go about it is. How about writing a letter to the US? I can help fix the English (I'm a native speaker). Then email it to president@whitehouse.gov and publish it on your blog. I assume the letter will be ignored, but at least you can say that you spelled it out to America what the right thing to do is.
Hi sis
the princess of the Proud mountain
ur are spot on, i can not say more than u said, and ur heart has spoken for u, we all in the same boat, wishing a plain landing heaven ,we lost alot of our heroes for the sake of our freedom, now we know whos the real libyan are made off, we all one clan, hope all ur family are safe , thanx for the post, our thoughts are with u ,we all gonna stand high, march toghter.hug as one nation, heads high,
My Dear sis Leebeya,
Everything is not at as it seems.
Do not believe what you see on TV & net, and only hear.
I am commenting you from Tripoli right now.
If you have an ounce of trust for me.. be skeptical..please.. I care for your heart..
not defending the mistakes in the man and the management of our nation.
but defending a big idea.. a big secret.. always had been universal not Libyan.. and had been vilfied and attacked from the start..
reality is very different from what you see.. from virtual reality..
maybe you will hate what I say.. but please dont..
hate cannot consume Leebeya.
you know who I am.. you miss my posts.. you know these dots I use..
use them..too
keep me anon. pls
والله صح عليك يا بنت بلادي هدا تمن الحرية وان شاء الله كله ماجور عند الله وتعيش ليبيا حرة
أخوك الليبي حر
Hello from the US Paul. As Lebeeya said, we should have recognized the NTC as the legitemite government from the beginning. I'm ashamed of Obama for his lack of action thus far. He could have had Libyan assets unfrozen by executive order. He could have funneled heavy weapons to Misrata and Benghazi rebels. These guys are fighting tanks with fly swatters. A REAL leader would do everything in his power to help these brave souls.
I wrote my Congressmen. I don't know what else to do. Maybe tanks and other weapons have been provided, and training is being done secretly. If so, God bless them. If not, shame on us.
Anonymous, the truth is simple enough. The Libyan people have lived in fear and anguish for 40 years. They can't, and won't, take it any more. Gaddafi never fooled anyone. Everyone knew he was a brutal egomaniac with a lot of loose screws. He's toast. And good riddance....
Hi Maury. Do I know you from the Iraqi blogs?
"I'm ashamed of Obama for his lack of action thus far."
I think there's too much pressure on the US to be the one to take action all the time. The US should be the big-hitter for when no-one else is available.
However, the Republicans (who I normally support) are being arseholes by standing against the action already being taken.
"He could have had Libyan assets unfrozen by executive order. He could have funneled heavy weapons to Misrata and Benghazi rebels."
Ok, but such an action really requires the UN arms embargo to be lifted.
"These guys are fighting tanks with fly swatters. A REAL leader would do everything in his power to help these brave souls."
Sure. That's the bottom line. The rebels need to be given whatever support they need to ensure they are victorious. We just need to chart a path from here to there, and I'm not sure what the optimal path is. What horrifies me is that some people even object to NATO air support being provided. Not just some people - some countries! Even democratic countries! Imagine if they had to battle tanks AND planes with those fly swatters!
"I wrote my Congressmen."
Thankyou for trying!
"I don't know what else to do. Maybe tanks and other weapons have been provided, and training is being done secretly. If so, God bless them. If not, shame on us."
In the absence of some secret information we should be assuming worst case and doing whatever is required to ensure victory.
By the way, I have been having conversations along the same lines over at http://benghazicitezen.blogspot.com and http://weda4all.blogspot.com if you want to add your opinion there as well. :-)
Yeah, it's good to see you again Paul. It seems like just yesterday we were having the same conversations about Saddam Hussein. In hindsight, Bush could have done better on Iraq. Maybe he should have waited for an uprising, and supported the rebels, instead of invading. Nevertheless, you can bet the farm Bush Jr. would have supported Libyan, Syrian, and Yemeni rebels early and often.
Freedom is a universal right. It should be the birthright of everyone on this crowded planet. This is an historic opportunity for 300 million people to gain their freedom. It will be a sad thing if history books show the free world didn't do everything possible to help them in their struggle.
Like yourself, I don't think the US should always be leading the action. I supported how Obama deferred to NATO and Arab countries on Libya. Still, the US does more then 50% of the world's military spending. Nobody is more able to provide weapons to the rebels. They'll gain their freedom alright. But, how many more thousands will be needlessly killed or wounded first?
Maury, "Yeah, it's good to see you again Paul. It seems like just yesterday we were having the same conversations about Saddam Hussein."
I certainly miss the old gang. :-)
"In hindsight, Bush could have done better on Iraq. Maybe he should have waited for an uprising, and supported the rebels, instead of invading."
He'd have likely waited forever, and if there was a rebel, it would have been more likely to be Al Sadr, which is hardly a good thing. And in response to 9/11, some sort of more immediate response to the Middle Eastern cesspit was required.
"Nevertheless, you can bet the farm Bush Jr. would have supported Libyan, Syrian, and Yemeni rebels early and often."
Once again, it's difficult to know the correct path.
"Freedom is a universal right. It should be the birthright of everyone on this crowded planet."
Sure.
"This is an historic opportunity for 300 million people to gain their freedom."
Sure.
"It will be a sad thing if history books show the free world didn't do everything possible to help them in their struggle."
Sure.
"Like yourself, I don't think the US should always be leading the action. I supported how Obama deferred to NATO and Arab countries on Libya. Still, the US does more then 50% of the world's military spending. Nobody is more able to provide weapons to the rebels."
I'm under the impression that you need training as well as the weapons, and look how long it has taken to train up the new Iraqi army.
"They'll gain their freedom alright. But, how many more thousands will be needlessly killed or wounded first?"
That's right. That's the big question in all of this. The current method of combat is not the one that will lead to the least number of deaths. It is best if there are trained ground troops added to the mix which would allow them to go from Misrata to Tripoli in a matter of days and end the war as quickly as possible. We even have an example (Haiti) of the regime surrendering as soon as combat troops are in the air.
So there needs to be some pretty compelling reason to have the increased number of deaths. If the compelling reason is that Libyans will start killing each other in the presence of foreign ground troops (ala Iraq), then we have another problem in the world to solve, ie "why do people kill others?". This is the same question posed on 9/11.
If the compelling reason is that we want to restructure combat so that western powers only need to provide air power, not ground troops, then that would seem more reasonable, but I think we have already seen that fail in Libya. Also, not many ground troops are required in the first place. I think there are better ways to restructure that (using Gurkhas for example).
Actually the West want to destabilize The Middle East and North Africa.
If revolution is not happening in Libya is because no real peeps are at any square protesting . Libyans are not pro -western .When Real people be out then this revolution would happen .
Izdiher, "Actually the West want to destabilize The Middle East and North Africa."
Nonsense. Show me where any politician or even individual in the West has said that they wanted that. That's purely a figment of your imagination, showing your anti-western tendencies. And this is why we have perpetual war - people willing to attack the completely innocent.
"If revolution is not happening in Libya is because no real peeps are at any square protesting ."
More nonsense. There have been large demonstrations in Benghazi, and they managed to get sufficient numbers to overwhelm the security forces.
"Libyans are not pro -western ."
Libyans don't speak with one voice. And where are you getting the percentage breakdown of what % see the democratic west as natural allies?
"When Real people be out then this revolution would happen ."
Revolution has already happened in case you hadn't noticed. The security forces in Tripoli are better organized and more inclined to use their automatic weapons on protesters, which is why they are currently winning there. And that is the normal state of affairs in a dictatorship - the dictator has security forces that are willing to open fire.
@ Paul: thank you for your generous offer, but I don't think that Lebeeya needs your help to do such thing, unless you want to help in reinventing the wheel ! So please take your buddy Maury and play somewhere outside.
Ignore the cynics. They are like theatre critics, with no discernible creativity, merely a facile ability to use the most miserable words available, in roughly the right order. They aren't building a society from scratch, and cannot imagine doing so. The Libyan people will amaze the world. But it is an amazing year, and one which will stuff the mouths of the Sneering Classes with truth and freedom by the end.
If anyone had said a year ago that Gadaffi would be gone now, everyone would have laughed. I look forward immensely to this time next year. And anyone who doesn't simply hasn't been paying attention this year - except to their dead political manuals, which reassure them that even if it obviously works in practice, if it doesn't conform to the theory, it's impossible. Who are they gonna believe? Their college tutor, or the evidence of their own eyes?
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