WESTERN INTERVENTION IN LIBYA
The western intervention that led to the killing of Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011 failed to achieve its main objective of influencing political change in Libya (Wedgwood and Dorn, 2015). This is because the social and political problems Gaddafi had successfully contained are now being faced by Libyans. Kuperman (2015) reveals that the Libyan political climate and state of security continue to worsen after the death of Gaddafi. Wedgwood and Dorn (2015) argue that western intervention in Libya failed because the current government is undefined. Notably, the western intervention did not lead to the settling of political turmoil in Libya. For example, Libya experienced a historic civil war in 2014, motivated by the kind of faction violence that Gaddafi has successfully kept under control (Kuperman, 2015). The security concerns facing Libya after Gaddafi’s death include the lawlessness portrayed by the interim government, proliferation of weapons, extralegal imprisonments, influence of Islamists and associations with terror groups, including ISIS (Wedgwood and Dorn, 2015).
According to Kuperman (2015), the western intervention that motivated the killing of Gaddafi failed because Libyans no longer enjoy political stability and security. This is depicted by rampant public protests, ethnic conflicts, and poor foreign relations in current Libya. Ali and Harvie (2013) note that under the leadership of Gaddafi, Libyans enjoyed free medical care and education, and standards of living were significantly high. Wedgwood and Dorn (2015) explain that Gaddafi’s strong control of government and state resources is attributed to the political stability Libya experienced during his rule. Ali and Harvie (2013) reveal that education and literacy levels were high in Libya under Gaddafi. Furthermore, petrol was cheap and electricity was free. Kuperman (2015) indicates that the failed western intervention in Libya would lead to loss of social and economic benefits among Libyans. Notably, Africa was affected negatively by the death of Gaddafi because his ambitious dreams, such as the introduction of a common gold currency for Africa may not be realized any time soon (Ali and Harvie, 2013).
Reference List
Ali, I, and Harvie, C., 2013. Oil and economic development: Libya in the post-Gaddafi era. Economic Modelling, 32, pp. 273-285
Kuperman, A.J., 2015. Obama's Libya Debacle: How a Well-Meaning Intervention Ended in Failure. Foreign Aff., 94, p.66.
Wedgwood, A, and Dorn, A., 2015. NATO’s Libya campaign 2011: Just or unjust to what degree?. Diplomacy and Statecraft, 26 (2), pp. 341-362
Ratings
