What's Old is New again...

Well, in today's news there was a mixed bag, the USA has released a further $30billion USD to the NTC but the disarming of the militias might take weeks longer.  A western writer has again shown that many of the newly minted revolutionaries are in fact people who worked closely to the old regime.

The Libyan people for years had no real idea of the vast amounts of wealth horded or spent by Gaddafi and his cronies.   Now that we have a better picture of the amount of resources all of Libyans have gained access to, we still don't really know where the money is going.  Of course we shouldn't expect the NTC to have their budget or accounts completely up to date yet but who is spending this money and what are they spending this money on?  The receipts from oil and gas sales should benefit all Libyans.  If Libyans don't see improvements to health care, education, security, entertainment, and other government services, the protests must start again in earnest.

Basic security is a primary responsibility of any government.  The NTC so far has shown a lack of effort or results in this area.  Maybe with time, they'll figure out how best to convince the men roaming the country showing off their weapons.  However, the children of Libya having been exposed to a horrific war can only begin to return to normalcy once they get a feeling of calm and peace from the adults.  As a Libyan and father, I cannot take my young children back to Libya until there is a minimum of stability and peace in the streets.

Finally, I give a lot of credit to the leaders of the NTC for finally seeing the light and rejecting Gaddafi after so many years of working with or for him.  I know that it was almost impossible to insulate yourself from the tentacles of the Gaddafi since he had his eyes and ears in all corners of the land.  But do we really need the new leadership of Libya to have at the highest levels these men?  Let the youth of the revolution have more influence and power since they are less likely to have been infected with the corruption and ethical lapses prevalent among the older generation.  Again, we need to forgive those who made simple or lower level sins during the Gaddafi era but we can't forget the crimes of those most guilty of harming the Libyan nation.

http://feb17.info/news/us-lifts-most-libyan-sanctions-frees-30-billion/

http://af.reuters.com/article/idAFJOE7BI06X20111219

http://www.redpepper.org.uk/libya-after-gaddafi/