Operation Odyssey Dawn: The Fight to Free Libya

Moammar Gaddhafi has been the dictator of Libya since 1969.  Ever since his coup d'état against King Idris on September 1st, 1969, he has turned the country from the monarchy that it previously was to a police state, weakening the different systems around him to prevent another coup.  One of the things that have made his rule unique is that, to many people in the country, there have been many moments where there has been actual freedom.  But in actuality, he has been in the heart of control all along.  There have been plenty of attempted coups against him, but none of them have posed a significant threat to his control.

However, the recent events have seen coup after coup in the Middle Eastern territories, starting with Egypt.  But the difference in this conflict versus the rest is that this time, the United States has intervened.  Just days ago, Coalition war planes from the United States, Great Britain, and France have entered Libyan airspace and taken out military targets.  But the problem with these airstrikes is that right now, each of the members of the Coalition have different goals in the country.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has just recently said that the U.S. will not have a pre-eminent role in Post-Revolution Libya.  And some things do point to this happening.  Libya's revolution force is made up of both military and civilian fighters.  Along with the force, many of the citizen of Libya who haven't taken up arms want to see Gaddhafi removed from power.

However, the same can be said about the opposition that they're up against.  Many people who enjoyed the semblance of control they've had through Gaddhafi's rule are willing to fight for him.  At the same time, those same forces are very anti-US, supporting Gaddhafi's policy of funding terrorism.  For years, he has funded Radical-Islamic terrorism, including Al-Qaeda.  And because of this, I wouldn't be surprised personally if Al-Qaeda has sent forces that way already.  If they haven't been there already, they are most likely there now.

Because of this, I find it very hard to believe that the United States will not end up in a prominent position of Post-War Libya.  This conflict will last a lot longer than any leader of the Coalition will admit, considering the amount at stake for both sides.  France, Britain, and NATO have already committed numerous forces to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, along with the United States for Anti-Terrorism operations and to maintain stability in the countries.  Adding a third country into that list would begin to start making forces of France and Britain spread thin.

On top of all this, the other thing that we have to contend with is the growing amount of power that PMCs are gaining around the world.  One fact that Americans need to understand is that a good majority of the forces on the ground in Iraq are actually from Private Military Companies.  These companies make their living off of security and war around the world.  This is a direct result of President Clinton and him shrinking the United States military to levels that were well below standard for protection or assault on a nation at the time of 9/11.

So, to allow the Libyan people to fight by themselves or with just minimal French and British support would be a suicide blow to the country.  While removing Gaddhafi is a start, it's going to be a long and arduous process in order for the country to be truly stable.  No matter how many bombs our coalition drops, the country will not be truly secure for a very long time.

With that warning, we need to remember what has happened in Iraq since we entered.  Two weeks after the first missile strike in Baghdad and then invasion forces moved into the country, we got treated with President Bush landing in an F-16, walking over to a podium, and behind him was a long video with the words 'Mission Accomplished'.  However, days later, people learned that the mission was nowhere near accomplished, and we would be committing troops to Iraq for quite some time.

Now I look at today.  Today, we have General Petraeus saying that he will have our troops out of Afghanistan by 2015.  At the same time, the Political status of both countries has been coming under scrutiny in the past year from the United States.  The situation in Iraq is no different than it was when Saddam was hung.  On top of that, now we have airstrikes against military compounds in Libya by Coalition forces, and we have two sides that are fighting very hard in order to make sure that the future that they want is preserved. 

The fact is, no matter how you slice it, the U.S. will be forced to take control once again.  However, the only difference is that the other two countries will ask for our support.  If we say no, who knows where we end up tomorrow with their support in other conflicts.  If we say yes, how many more dollars will we have to contribute to a wars in other nations.  We're stuck in a tailspin with this conflict, with no way of getting what the people of the United States really want.

Do the Libyan people deserve help from a dictator that has done nothing but harm the country for years from behind the scenes?  Yes, without a doubt.  Do I disagree with that we shouldn't have a force in the country?  No, the United States is a superpower of economic and military might.  However, at the same time, we have problems here that we need to correct, along with two wars we're already fighting.  So even though I can't begin to describe what I would see as a solution, I am sure that the people who have been elected don't care what anyone is going to say but themselves.