Let's Talk About Libya

I know there are a ton of things going on domestically that should grab my attention. That billboard that just got taken down in SoHo that was an insult to every black womb in America for instance. But I can't turn away from what's going on in the Middle East. It's too crazy and it most offends my sense of justice.


Right now, my biggest concern is what's happening in Libya. I said Iran was run by assholes, but those assholes have nothing on Moammar Qaddafi. Seriously, this dude has issues! You can't open the home page of any national news site without seeing information about this situation. Even Fox News has a whole section about it.


When every report was about Egypt, I was riveted, but I was also concerned. But Egypt was the biggest story. Their revolution sparked the most interest. But what could be bigger than Egypt? Old school genocide. That's basically what Qaddafi is doing. And that shit ain't right.


Here is a quote from CNN.com that expresses the essence of this situation:

Terrified residents of Libya's tense capital braced for the possibility of more bloodshed Saturday as a defiant Moammar Gadhafi vied to preserve his four decades of power.

You can find that article here. That sentence ought to make one appreciative of what they have. As Americans (I wanted to say North America, but I can't include Mexico), we are blessed by having the right to not get shot in the streets because of a struggle with the government.


I'm more worried about being shot in the street from senseless violence or nutzoid paranoia. But I can count on knowing that most of the people in the country are reasonable and could never come up with a good reason for mass murder aka genocide.


The Libyans aren't so lucky. They have a leader who is the worst kind of person. He is putting what he wants and thinks he needs over the interests of so many other people. People he was supposed to protect and govern. By the tenets of any religion that acknowledges a Hell, that's where this man is headed.


He thinks it's okay to have the Army and random militiamen fire on protesters. He thinks it's okay to threaten the servicemen who don't want to shoot with execution. He thinks it's okay to hold onto power when that power has been vacated because you crossed a line.


I think this says it all:

"We can destroy any assault with the people's will, with the armed people," he said on state television Friday. "And when it is necessary, the weapons depots will be open to all the Libyan people to be armed."

This man is seriously disturbed. He thinks there are a majority of Libyans on his side. He thinks they will come out and fight for him to keep his regime going. He thinks that even in the face of being shot at random by his mercenaries for daring to leave the house, the people will pick up guns and shoot their countrymen to maintain his rule. These people who have very little chance of rising from the middle class or poverty are supposed to support his policies that haven't supported them?


I don't know what's going to happen. Will this be another Tahrir Square or will it be another Tiananmen Square? Only time will tell. But at least the international community is doing what they can to prevent this from being another Darfur. If you don't know what I'm talking about, utilize Google. But here's the basics. In Tahrir Square, the protests succeeded. In Tiananmen Square, the government fired on the protests and the uprising ceased. In Darfur, the whole situation devolved into a civil war with death toll estimates ranging from 20,000-200,000.,


And with a leader so intensely ignoring what's happening in his own country, the Libyans had to do what they could to get messages out to the rest of the world about what was going down. Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi took a gamble Saturday that didn't pay off. He switched from banning foreign journalists to allowing them into the country. He brought them into Tripoli, though to be one of his strongholds, expecting them to report of the stability in that area. According to The New York Times, the exact opposite is what happened.


Libya deserves better. It's really too bad Obama can't send in the Navy Seals who dealt so decisively with those three pirates. Not the recent situation. I'm talking about back in April of 2009.  They got the job done.


I could talk about how the situation in all these Middle East countries is affecting Europe's and America's oil prices. But my rant wouldn't sound very patriotic, so I'm leaving that along for now. I'd rather focus on the latest news. As I'm typing this, there's an update on the New York Times website title Near Tripoli, Rebels in Libya Gain Firepower and Defectors.


It provides a powerful story of what's happening right now on the ground. Read the article please. The parts that stand out to me is that the Libyan opposition is no longer called "opposition" or "protesters" exclusively. They are also now "rebels". It has a negative connotation, but it is accurate. Their leader refuses to step down and they are currently operating outside the confines of their national law. Libya is no Egypt.


The Libya that will emerge from this situation cannot be predicted. Qaddafi will not step aside. Both sides are gearing up for a battle. How this will end, the only thing that is certain is that it will be bloody. Lives will be uselessly lost. No one thinks that the regime will stay in power. How long it takes to get them out of power is yet to be determined. But if that asshole and his sons think there's any way out of this that leaves him in charge, they're delusional.