Some leaders, including those of France, embarked themselves full of
innocent enthusiasm in an uncertain conflict against the mad dictator of
Libya, without answering three questions that would have deserved to be
publicly discussed, and at least with the Parliament, before the first
missile was fired by a French plane:
1. Are we ready to conduct a possible second phase of the war, which would
be terrestrial? We can certainly hope that the regime collapses under the
sole effect of sideraton by a carpet of bombs. But experience shows that
this is not always the case. In this case, what do we do? We continue the
bombing at the risk of killing a population used as human shield and turn
Arab public opinions against the West presented as invader, as shown in the
first evasion of the Arab League? We send troops to occupy the cities and
conduct street battles? Both are authorized by the 1973 United Nations
resolution, with none of the Parliaments concerned being asked to give their
agreement.
2. Are we ready to take care of peace? History teaches us that a war is
truly won only if peace is prepared during war. It was not the case during
the First World War. It was almost the case during the Second. Not at all
during the Vietnam War or during the more recent ones, in Afghanistan and
Iraq. With the disastrous consequences that we know. And here, do we have an
idea of what Libya will become? A unified state? A federation? Will we see
Cyrenaica become independent and only maintain its independence thanks to
the presence of Western troops? And even if the dictator is ousted, will the
liberating countries have the means to rebuild this country? It is hard to
believe so when we see how these same countries only barely help Egypt and
Tunisia. Ironically, by the way, the three most advanced countries in aerial
battle against Gaddafi (France, Britain and the U.S.) are economically
ruined, with record unemployment. Even if they have the means to win the
war, they will never be able to win the peace. While the richest countries
(Russia, China, Germany, Saudi Arabia), stand quietly stashed. This can only
lead to a further discredit of the Dollar and the Euro, and more broadly the
entire West and the values it defends, and in whose name countries were
freed.
3. Why attack this terrible dictator who massacres his people and not the
other three, who are doing the exact same thing at the same time, in Sanaa,
Manama and Abidjan? By the way who knows the names of Hamad bin Isa
Al-Khalifa, King of Bahrain, and Ali Abdallah Saleh, Yemen’s president, who
are just as criminals today than is today Gaddafi or Gbagbo. Why is one
denounced by the media and not the other three? Because we think that
Gaddafi can be dislodged without collateral damage, which is also not
established.
We can play chess well only if we anticipate many moves ahead, which does
not seem to be the main quality of those who started this conflict.
Definitely, Clemenceau was right to say that war is too important a matter
to be left to the military. No doubt that we should not leave it to the
diplomats either.