The origin of the current Libyan
quagmire (short version)
In 1969 Libya went through
major change that initially heralded a new and more egalitarian future. However, the ever opportunistic Gadhafi, his
tribe, and their allies wasted little time to fully consolidate their power and
monopolize Libya as their fiefdom.
Libyans generally were trained to be a passive and reactive people by the
Ottomans, Italians, the Senussi monarchy, and then the reign of Gadhafi
extended the lack of reasonable political participation by the average
Libyan. The young and newly installed Gadhafi
put on a show of empowering various sectors of his society and all the while
trying to pit them against each other, rich versus poor, home owner versus
renter, young against old, and even parents and their children were not
immune to his paranoid police state and
its bizarre wedge politics. Gadhafi had
claimed that hereditary rule was incompatible with true political theory and
doctrine but he was more than willing to have his sons take over the family
business when he was good and ready.
It took 42 years before
events transpired whereby Gadhafi finally lost his franchise over the Libyan
nation and his family was forced to flee.
Many Libyans rejoiced and exiles returned ostensibly to help first the
revolution and then the transition to a new democratic Libya. Senussi monarchy nostalgia was again in the
open and the new General National Congress(GNC) government squandered billions
in cash grants, theft, waste, corruption, and criminal negligence on a scale
that is yet to be properly documented. In
spite of the chaos and GNC missteps, most Libyans believed that Libya was on the
way to political pluralism and progress.
The post 2011 environment
The number of political
parties bloomed and Libyan were free to discuss politics and vote in mostly
free and fair elections for the first time in decades. Regional politics, especially the Muslim
Brotherhood variety which originated in neighboring Egypt became a large part
of the discussion as well as a so called secularist party grouping led by
prominent former Gadhafi advisor and rebel NTC leader during the 2011
revolution, Mahmoud Gibril. The dominant
narrative which was fostered was that the political arm of the Muslim
Brotherhood, the Justice and Construction(AB) party, was actually a front for
Egyptian based interests. The scapegoating
reached such an extent that many blamed the AB for almost anything that went
wrong in Libya and their opponents used their political naiveté and the lack of
economic and social progress in Libya to paint them in a fairly bad light. Make no mistake, the AB and their allies
share some of the blame for the political failures that have led us to the current
crisis but they are not the main source of concern that many critics and
analysts make them out to be.
The average Libyan was quick
to point out the lack of reliable electrical service, security, modern
healthcare, education, and infrastructure in Libya. In a world where 5G cell phone service is
around the corner, Libyans are stuck in a 2G time warp and they need to have
two government owned cell phone carriers to provide what passes for complete cell
phone reception. The political landscape
in Libya in 2012-2016 rapidly deteriorated into an almost farcical and
fractious group of Congressmen and women who achieved little but spending money
on things that didn’t provide long term benefit for their constituents. The political anarchy helped create a country
where multi-million dollar bank heists were only rivaled by the billions of
dollars that disappeared into thin air or were used to purchase arms from the
UAE and other sources that were then used in various internecine shooting
matches between various competing regional or even private militias. A small hamlet named Zintan which performed
admirably in the 2011 revolution apparently was rewarded with control of the
capital’s airport which soon became a money making enterprise not for the
State, but for Zintani interests and their militias. The Libyan second city of Benghazi descended
into chaos and the incompetent GNC made the disastrous decision to locate their
successor, the House of Representatives(HOR).
To this day, Libyan politicians are paid a princely salary and often are
out of the country or don’t show up for work and this includes the members of
the defunct GNC and the HOR whose initial term has already expired.
Political theater
Average Libyans put their fail
in the new Libyan leadership cadre such as Mgarief, Zidan, and Thinni. All of these men failed to deliver meaningful
and construction improvements in Libya.
If asked, they can say that they were hobbled by the culture of militia
and the collapse in oil production. The
Libyan ability to finger point is only rivaled by the near constant strikes and
work disruptions staged by unions or tribes or even small groups of disgruntled
gunmen. The trust given to the
leadership and their administrations was misplaced and billions, precious time,
and even more importantly lives were lost due to the utter incompetence of the
nascent Libyan government.
The US provides a stark
contrast to Libya, Americans have the luxury of professional politicians who
often work their way up from local to state to national government
offices. Most Americans therefore feel
little need to get too involved in politics beyond occasionally voting or
perhaps calling their congressman or sending them an email. In Libya however, carpet baggers, charlatans,
and uneducated holdovers from the previous regime comprise the politicians who
prey on the hopes and dreams of the novice voters of Libya. Having amateurs running a modern state is not
a good foundation for a progressive and rational government. Especially for a country like Libya which has
been fought over for thousands of years and has vast wealth and potential.
The Tarhouni Constitution
Mr. Ali Tarhouni has been interested
in helping create the post-revolution Libyan Constitution since at least
2011. The oft delayed Constituion has
cost millions and has yet to be delivered for the approval or even widespread
discussion of its merits. The release of
a “final” draft only creates further cause for concern and begs the question; “Can
the Libyans get a refund?”
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