Arab Union calls for no fly zone over Libya
Here are quotes from Libyan rebels, obtained from Reuters.com
"Help us to become a democratic country," said one banner strung between lampposts and written in English and Arabic.
"Obama, you can have as much oil as you like just send in the marines to get rid of Gaddafi," said one fighter, who only gave his name as Younis, asking U.S. President Barack Obama for military assistance.One senior rebel officer, who declined to be identified, was furious. "These guys won't listen. They are driving me crazy. There's no one in command. We had (the town of) Bin Jawad, but they just wouldn't listen, I'm being driven crazy," he said.
"The Libyan people need help. We're in danger. The east is in danger,"
bdel Hadi Omar, a civilian rebel volunteer, speaking in Ajdabiyah, said.
"We don't care how long it takes, five years or 10 years. The gate has been opened," said Bashir Warshfani, 30, a rebel in military fatigues and wearing a keffiyeh.
"If I die, my brother takes my place, if he dies, my neighbor. Gaddafi will only get this country when he kills us all," he said, lifting his shirt to show the entry and exit wound of a bullet that was freshly bandaged.
In the last couple months we have watched a number of countries in the Middle East have it's citizenry revolt against their oppressive government. Tunisia revolted and it's ruler left the country after demonstrations by it's citizens. Eqyptians revolting peacefully and unrelentingly. Eygpt's ruler stepped down. Now you see Yemen / Bahrain / Libya, and smaller protests in Oman, EAU and now Saudi Arabia.
Yemen has used some violence on it's citizens as well as Bahrain. Libya has been the most forceful of all in the use of violence, even to the point of using air power to attack it's citizens who are in full revolt. Which looks like is in full civil war.
The one common thing you hear from these protesters is their desire to have basic human rights, ie. representative form of government as well as elimination of corruption. I do believe that our policy should be different for each of these countries that are in revolt. We should look at our intelligence and determine whether there is a strong likelihood that the country will turn into a safe haven for extremist that will destabilize the region.
Presently I see Egypt and Libya to be countries that we should support in their revolt against their oppressors. I believe both Egypt and Libya based on the shear numbers of demonstrators and rebels in those countries risking their lives for the cause of liberation shows a widespread belief in those countries to take action.
Egypt has a young population that is part of the next generation in the Middle East. This is an opportunity for the West that we can not pass up. We will not have the stamp of a dictator to help us with a rubber stamp as we buy them off. We will have to work with the new government that will likely not give us everything we want. We will have to live with that, like we do in every other country. The young Egyptian population will take pride in their actions to create their new representative form of government, which in turn will give them a vested interest in the outcome and continued support. If an outside force comes in to liberate a people (like Iraq) it is so easy for the population to have the expectation that they will be taken care of by someone from outside. The people in each country need to take ownership of their country.
We now have Libya in full scale revolt for the last 3 weeks now, and what has the West done? We have talked and confiscated assists from Libya. The UN is not made to handle situations like this uprising / civil war. They are too slow to act. You need leadership to take decisive action with a few nations that see the need for action. The rebels continue to call for help with a no fly zone, to keep them from being attacked from the air. We need to stand by these people that are fighting for their freedom. They do not want any ground forces, which I wouldn't support. They need to be the one's to liberate themselves, which is what they want.
You probably are asking, then why do we not get involved in all the other civil wars around the globe. The reason is we are not "involved" with all the people of the world. The West is heavily involved in trade with Libya and the results of the civil war, will have a marked effect on the West. That is not true for the other countries that are in civil war. It will impact our day to day lives, whether we are aware of it or not.
We had Japan and Germany during WWII that were our enemies. Look at them now. You don't have a single thought that they would take up arms against us. They are both a valued part of our democratic / representative forms of government. Japan had Kamikaze pilots that crashed their explosive laden planes into warships for their Emperor. Germany had the Nazis who tried to exterminate a people. These are extreme actions from a people, but yet they are part of our economic system now, with no thought of dominating the world. All in relatively a short time.
Why do we think that the people of the Middle East can not become the same to the world? We are not trying to impose freedom on them, they are demanding freedom from their oppressors with the threat of death and still they do not relent. I admire them. There are a new generation of people in the Middle East that I believe are desperate to be apart of the rest of the world. I know their are risks that extremist could take over and could put a stranglehold on the supply of Oil and create either an Economic nightmare or worse. We need to stop being fearful and take the risk, after all their people are risking their lives.
America did not become independent by itself. France was key to US reaching independence from Britain. We wouldn't be who we are without help.
The time is NOW for the US to side with the people screaming for freedom. If we don't and they end up back in oppression, we will have missed the greatest opportunity for the Middle East to be a true partner.
Supporting freedom is a risk, it involves change in a region where we have a lot at stack. But don't the people their have more at stack.
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