Muammar Gaddafi, Libya and the End of Post-Colonialism

Post-colonialism is something I personally define as beginning in the mid 20th Century when lands that were controlled (directly or indirectly) by Western powers were re-appropriated by the native populations.

Libya, which had been held by the Italians since about 1911, was administered by the French and English for a few years after World War II (news flash, Italy lost) before it was returned to Libyan rule, where a monarchy was established.  Gaddafi led a military coup in 1969 and has held power since then.

Libya's colonial history goes way way back though -- it has pretty much been a perennial colony.  The Phoenicians and the Greeks were the first to set up colonies in modern Libya, in order to establish trade with the native Berber people.  After them it was the Romans, then the Arabs (who brought Islam), then the Ottoman Turks, who were a decaying entity by the time the scramble for Africa enticed Italian interest in the region.



Through a mixture of various evil things, Gaddafi has firmly held onto power since 1969, and through further evil things, has kept his sons from taking power from him.

I guess about a month and a half ago the Egypt situation really hit a head, and Libyans in the east, especially the city of Benghazi, followed suit and started their own movement.  Rebel groups formed quickly around the country, though they were quickly put down in Tripoli and other western cities where Gaddafi has more control.  Benghazi has been firmly in rebel control since this early time period.

They formed an army using mostly stolen military equipment that was in the area and a combination of defecting soldiers and revolutionaries willing to take up the cause.  Gaddafi's military, on the other hand, is made up of a combination of mercenaries and Libyans who support his cause.  They also have a functioning airforce and definitely have the upper hand in heavy arms (artillery, tanks, heavy machine guns, etc).

In the few weeks since the uprising began, the rebelling forces took over much of the coastline except for Tripoli and a few surrounding cities, followed by Gaddafi pushing them back to the cities of Benghazi and Mizrata.  The rebelling forces have long called for some sort of foreign no fly zone to help balance the playing field.

A few days ago a few Western nations (among them USA and France, don't know the entire list) agreed to make a Libyan no-fly zone (again, don't know the specifics, know it at least covers jets like the Iraqi no-fly zone).  Shortly after this, Gaddafi and the rebelling groups agreed upon a cease-fire.  Shortly after this, Gaddafi went back on his word and continued advancing his army and bombarding targets.

So yeah, that took me a while to get to that point, but I kind of felt like I needed to provide a thorough enough background.

How does this spell the end for Post-Colonialism?  Gaddafi going out of power is not enough for this.  Sure, he's been in power for a long time, but many rulers have come and gone since he took control.

Simple -- Western forces are intervening (though to what degree, who knows) in a revolution in a nation that has a good amount of mineral wealth and still can't be portrayed (at least first and foremost) as trying to exploit them for it.

In Iraq there weren't any roots in place for a revolution, and while Saddam as a person may have posed a threat, he was politically too weak to do anything himself and his state likely would have withered away in the coming decade or two anyway.  Not to mention, there really wasn't any reason for the invasion.  The information on which the invasion was based was outed as a lie earlier this year by the provider himself.

Afghanistan was moreso a direct reaction to the 9/11 attacks, and if anything military forces there were doing the opposite of what they were doing in Iraq, and what they plan on doing in Libya -- that is, they were supporting the government that was there beforehand and pushing back the rebellion by the Taliban.

Couple this with the rise of industrial development by second world countries (economic definition, not soviet) and one can see imperialism and of itself is not a major factor in the scenario, and self-reliance has overtaken imperialism in a lot of political spheres.

If this were about imperialism, then we'd be bombing Benghazi right now, cos Gaddafi, despite his Soviet dealing socialist terrorist dealing airline bombing past, has been cooperating with the UN, America, and much of Europe for the better part of this decade.  Much like if Mubarak were to stay in power in Egypt, if for no other reason, it would be easier just because you know what you get (support).

If Colonialism is marked by imperial antagonisms toward the native people (especially in regards to deprivation of resources), and Post-Colonialism is marked by native people's antagonisms towards former oppressors, this moment in Libya shows a moment after these two stages, where natives and former oppressors work in cooperation and create a situation that is more beneficial for all.

If a drowning man was to be encircled by sharks, would it be humane to keep moving along, as it is more convenient?

Shit, this got long, and I kinda feel like I only said about half of what I wanted to say.

-- Knuttel